Spirited Christmas Tree Sales Put Local Retailers in Merry Mood

Jason Chapman was a little wary of heading out to look over this season’s selection of Christmas trees.

Due to last year’s El Nino, Chapman had heard this year’s supply was going to be a little short and prices substantially higher.

“I’m pretty stingy to begin with, and I didn’t like hearing that,” said Chapman, who spent a recent afternoon with his family viewing trees at the Home Depot in Oxnard. “You have to buy one, but when the prices get out of control you might have to settle with one that’s just all right.”

But despite initial predictions, retailers and growers said business has been about as good as any other year and prices have mostly remained stable.

According to the St. Louis-based National Christmas Tree Assn., the national average for trees this year has held steady at last year’s rate, ranging from $3.10 to $5.65 a foot, depending on the variety.

“There was a lot of talk about [El Nino] earlier this year, but it hasn’t panned out,” said Rick Dungey of the association. “The harvests were up, and our members are telling us that sales have been up.”

Although no numbers are available for Ventura County, retailers said business has been brisk.

“First weekend we were open we had people lined up around the parking lot,” said Home Depot employee Peter Castro. “We sold something like 6,000 trees then, and the next weekend was about the same.”

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David Lemay, an employee of a Simi Valley Christmas tree outlet, reported a similar scenario, adding that sales may have increased over last year.

“During the weekends and nights we’ve been slammed. . . . It seems like every time I turn around we’re almost out and I have to start restocking,” he said.

Both said customers have been price-sensitive this year, opting to purchase the less-expensive Douglas and Monterey firs rather than the pricier Noble firs.

Ever since Mark Carr first hauled two ox carts loaded with fir trees to sell at a New York City street corner in 1851, Americans have gone crazy for holiday trees.

They have become a big-money industry, employing more than 100,000 people across the country and generating about $1 billion in sales during the monthlong season that begins in November and ends on Christmas.

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It has become so big that the association estimates more than 1 million acres are under cultivation to meet the needs of the 32 million annual holiday tree buyers.

It’s a highly competitive industry that forces growers, retailers and consumers to fight for every dollar.

“It’s a tough business, no doubt about it,” said Dennis Thompkins, an evergreen arborist in Sumner, Wash., who consults with tree growers. “And it’s risky. . . . There’s a huge investment of time and money, and because it takes seven to 10 years to get a product to market there’s a lot of uncertainty.”

This year, Californians will purchase between 3.5 million and 4 million trees--more than any state in the country.

Most of those trees, said Mike Wade of the California Christmas Tree Assn., come from Oregon and Washington.

There are about 400 suppliers in California, and most are also retailers that allow customers to cut their own trees.

With their Christmas Ranch Tree Farm in Thousand Oaks, Don and Marilyn Cameron have been selling trees and a memorable holiday experience to customers for the past 26 years.

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For $32, customers can pick and cut their own tree from the more than 10,000 dotting the couple’s picturesque farm.

“It’s been a lot better than last year, and I think that has a lot to do with the weather,” said Marilyn Cameron. “Last year we had all those terrible storms, which kept people away, but not now. . . . It seemed like people were getting out a lot earlier this time.”

For the most part, the tree-buying season is over. Retailers trying to unload remaining trees are cutting prices to do so.

Castro said the Noble firs at his lot, which once fetched $52 for a 9-foot tree, could go below $10 in the days leading up to Christmas.

“Near the end, they may get down to the single digits,” he said. “We want to make some money off of them.”

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