Slow Economy Hasn’t Cut Down Demand for Christmas Trees

The recession may put a dent in some retailers’ sales this holiday season, but Orange County residents are not expected to go without their Christmas trees, which promise to be in abundant supply at prices similar to those of last year.

Mickey Edwards, owner of C.A. Jones Christmas Trees, who will operate two Christmas tree lots in Fountain Valley, said she has already ordered 3,000 trees to be shipped in every few days, beginning next week.

The first batch is already spoken for, she said. Hundreds of banks and restaurants have ordered their trees, which will be picked up the day after Thanksgiving. And the trees ordered this year are larger than last year’s, Edwards said.

“The response is just unbelievable so far,” she said. “I’m so optimistic this year that I opened an extra lot.”

The Milwaukee-based National Christmas Tree Assn. is expecting a 6% jump in sales to 36.3 million trees this season.

Mike Edwards (not related to Mickey Edwards), who owns a tree-decorating service based in Buena Park, said he is hopeful that his business will boom too.

His clients include car lots, malls and a few Newport Beach residents who have ordered eight- to 10-foot trees that he will pick out, deliver and decorate soon after Thanksgiving. Edwards expects to be completely booked through Christmas Day.

“I think Christmas trees are as popular as they could possibly get,” he said.

Terry Ulven, owner of Christmas Trees R’ Us, said he expects to sell more trees at his seven lots--one each in Brea, Yorba Linda, Orange, Santa Ana, Costa Mesa and two in Huntington Beach--than he did last year. “I’m upbeat about the market this year,” he said. “I feel good about it.”

The Christmas tree association reports that retail Christmas tree prices nationwide will remain the same as last year on average: $3 to $5.65 a foot.

Local tree vendors say customers buy more noble firs than any other tree because of their beauty, with Douglas firs second in popularity because of their prices.

On average, six-foot noble firs will sell for about $40, while six-foot Douglas firs will sell for about $30. But Douglas firs, Mike Edwards said, “are kind of the Charlie Brown tree. You can’t do a lot with ornaments with that tree because they’ll just lie on the side of drooping, flimsy branches.”

Most people choose a tree based on family tradition, however, according to Christmas tree association spokeswoman Joan Geiger.

No matter what tree is chosen, experts recommend that shoppers pick one that doesn’t have brown branches near the center and that doesn’t lose its needles when shaken.

Once a tree is purchased, a one-inch cut from the base of the trunk should be made, it should be kept in a water-filled holding stand and away from fireplaces, heaters or other heat sources, Geiger said.

As an experienced Christmas tree buyer, Mike Edwards suggests placing the base of the tree in boiling hot water at first, then gradually decreasing the temperature every few hours. This will bring out the tree’s sap, a natural protectant against drying out, he said.

Everyone recommends keeping the tree watered daily.

Ulven said trees are so much a part of the holiday season that he will replace any tree bought at his lots with a fresh one if it dries out--no questions asked.

The recession is not affecting Christmas tree sales, Geiger said, because “even if people can’t afford all the presents they want to place under that tree, they don’t want to give up having the tree.”

“The Christmas tree is the center of the celebration,” she added. “It’s a big family tradition for many families.”

That tradition date back hundreds of years, Geiger said, with the first Christmas tree reference recorded in the 1500s in Strasbourg, Germany.

Every year tree sales increase, says Ron Bishop of Bishop & Matthews in Inglewood, a 60-year-old wholesaler of Christmas trees.

“We’ve got more customers and orders are doubling,” said Bishop, who has many clients in Orange County. “It looks like it’s going to be a pretty good year.”