Martins Christmas Tree Farm is getting a bigger share of more than $5.5 billion Americans will spend on Christmas trees, and the Rostraver business has been a victim of its own success.
“Last year was our best year,” said owner Brad Martin, who recently took the farm over after his father George died in September.
The boost in business, Martin said, resulted from other local tree farms closing, and while he welcomed the customers, “we can’t sustain the amount of people that came in last year.”
An oversupply of trees about a decade ago caused a domino effect nationwide., according to the Associated Press. Subsequently, fewer trees were cut down, which meant not as many seedlings were planted to replace them. Hot, dry weather also took its toll, forcing many growers to close.
The Martins planted 18,000 trees in 2019. It sounds like a big number, “but if you get a 60 percent success rate, you’re doing good,” Martin said. “We’re going to have to close down for two or three years to get our 4- and 5-foot trees up to size. And then the seedlings we just put in, you’re looking at seven to nine years before they’re ready to go.”
According to an analysis by Finder.com, Americans will spend nearly $5.6 billion on either real or fake Christmas trees in 2019, with just over 51 percent coming from either a choose-and-cut farm or a retail lot supplied by a local farm. A good many local trees come from Indiana, Pa., which stills claims the title of America’s “Christmas Tree Capital.”
And while supply may not be as plentiful, Finder.com shopping writer Gabrielle Pastorek said last-minute shoppers can find good value.
“Some of the best deals on locally grown trees usually occur the week before Christmas, when tree farmers are looking to clear their lot for the season,” Pastorek said. “Interestingly, our findings show that the majority of Americans aren’t buying their Christmas trees online, despite a huge spike in online shipping for other holiday goods.”
While local customers may not be doing their tree buying online, it is certainly an easy way to find where to go.
“The internet killed us,” Martin said. “My dad decided seven years ago that he would do a website, and now everyone who jumps on the computer to find a Christmas tree farm sees us, so it just took off. And it would have been great if we had a couple hundred acres of trees. But it sort of hurt us, because we got so many people in so quickly.”
