'Last year we had a bonanza': Kitsap Christmas tree farms bracing for another big year
Christmas tree farms in Kitsap County are prepared to meet the spiking demand for real, you-cut trees despite environmental and economical factors that threaten their product.
"We saw a record number of people last year; people seemed like they wanted to get out of the house finally and not be locked up," said Randy Billick, owner of Huberts Christmas Trees at 4601 Seabeck Hwy NW in Bremerton. "We're actually expecting an even bigger increase this year; we've got more phone calls and inquiries in the last three weeks than I've ever seen."
According to the National Christmas Tree Association, an increase in demand in 2020 led to sales occurring earlier, right around Thanksgiving, and many farms across the country selling out. There has also been a 20-30% decrease in the acreage of Christmas tree farms in the last decade, so the farms that remain open have to serve more people.
Some farms opened the weekend before Thanksgiving, but the real Christmas tree-buying season still begins on Black Friday, said local farm owners.
"Last year we had a bonanza," said Jerry Reid, owner of Alpine Evergreen Christmas Tree Farm at 11001 Lake Flora Rd SW. "The indications are that people want to get out, it's a real nice family gathering point."
Billick said he is getting calls from Western Washington and Oregon; people are commuting to Kitsap to buy from large farms like Huberts.
Huberts Christmas Trees has over 100,000 trees, and Billick was prepared to meet 150% of expected demand until the extreme heat wave over the summer scorched a lot of his trees. Now he estimates meeting 90-95% of demand, he said.
Different types of trees have varying levels of vulnerability to such heat, and the size is a big factor as well. The newest trees planted this past year suffered anywhere from a 50-100% loss at different farms in the county. At the other end, big trees at and above 10 feet were exposed to more sun than the most commonly purchased 6-8 foot range.
Billick said Huberts is still offering tens of thousands of healthy trees in that popular height range, and if some people are willing to get a new type of tree, nobody will miss out on having a beautiful Christmas centerpiece. Noble firs, he said, were some of the most susceptible to heat damage, while pine variations stood up quite well to the heat.
For Reid at Alpine U-Cut, Noble and Nordman firs actually faired quite well along with spruces. Douglas firs were the most damaged.
Disparity in types of trees damaged as well as type of damage from farm to farm can be accounted for by a number of factors, including field orientation and sun exposure.
Reid said a lot of the trees at Alpine only had their tips damaged, and in a few years, those could be regrown, whereas trees with surface area damage cannot be restored.
Big farms like Huberts and Alpine are withstanding this year's heat wave because of the sheer number of trees, while much smaller farms were more able to protect their trees in the first place.
Doug Kingsbury of Five Springs Tree Farm, on Five Springs Lane in Olalla, has only about 4,000 trees, but the watering system he began about five years ago makes his farms less vulnerable to environmental abnormalities, and his farm is in a heavily forested area that provides more protection, he said.
This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Kitsap Christmas tree farms bracing for another big year
