Christmas Trees Arriving--a Sure Sign of the Season

Thousands of fragrant Christmas trees from this year’s bountiful harvests in Oregon, Washington and California are already arriving in Los Angeles--a sure sign of the beginning of the holiday season.

At the annual tree auction market that opened Saturday at 8th and Alameda streets downtown, hawkers offered Douglas firs and blue-tipped Noble firs straight off railroad cars and trucks arriving from plantations to the north.

Prices, slightly below what some lots charge, average $25 to $33 for a six-foot Douglas, and $50 to $60 for a six-foot Noble, which one seller called the “caviar and champagne” of Christmas trees.

“These trees are fresh-cut from Oregon--even got one here with a bird nest in it!” one auctioneer called out. “Who’ll give me $25 for this six-footer to start the bidding?”

Early Birds on Scene

Only a few early birds inspected the trees Saturday, twisting them around, looking for bald spots and crooked boughs, and finally picking the perfect evergreen.

Californians are expected to buy 4 million trees this year, most of them from traditional lots. But for people who want a bit of adventure, there’s the annual auction downtown, as well as more than 20 “choose-and-cut” tree farms in Los Angeles County. At those farms, scattered in Chatsworth, Pasadena, Torrance, Rosemead and elsewhere, shoppers can fell their own trees for prices ranging from $15 to more than $40.

For those who are getting ready to buy, the Los Angeles City Fire Department says it’s important to pick a tree that’s still green and moist and to keep its trunk in water. Officials say that a dry tree’s needles will snap in two when folded and that the tree will fail the “bang test,” dropping dozens of needles when hit sharply on the ground.