Some Varieties of Real Christmas Trees in Short Supply This Year, Growers Say

You may be planning to go this weekend to purchase a real tree for Christmas, but you might find some vendors out Fraser firs.

According to the National Christmas Tree Association, Fraser Fir tree supplies are down this year.

Ruth Cantrell and her family own Holly Hill Tree Farm in Dahlonega.

Cantrell says they sold out of the popular Christmas tree variety last week, but are hoping to get more in.

“We had such a busy weekend, we sold all of ours,” Cantrell said. “We had 150 Frasers and we only have about five left. The Frasers don’t grow here. We have to get them from the mountains of North Carolina. The guy we buy from said he would probably be short of the small and medium sizes and would just have big ones. So, we’ll have to do some hunting and it may be hard.”

Fraser Firs take 10 years to grow in the mountains of North Carolina.

However, during the recession of 2008, growers there planted fewer trees or stopped planting altogether and now there’s a shortage of Fraser firs this year.

North Carolina is the nation’s second largest grower of Fraser Firs behind Oregon.

Cantrell said she expects there will likely be another shortage of Frasers next year as well.

“We have White pine and Cypress that we grow here and they cut,” she said. “And even last year we had all of the middle sizes of the Cypress cut. So, we’re missing the seven, eight and nine foot trees. We sold more of the 11 and 10-foot trees, big sizes, but we usually do that on the first couple weekends and then toward the last of the holiday they get down to pines and the six-footers.”

And the National Christmas Tree Association says because of the Fraser Fir shortage you can expect to pay more this year for that real tree.