Prices steady, as trees rebound from frost
TRURO, N.S. – Adrian Samson is a happier man than he was this time last year.
His trees have mostly recovered from the June 2018 frost, which ruined 80 per cent of last year’s stock. Most of his trees are balsam firs.
“It’s going to take another year for some of them to come out of it, unfortunately a lot of small ones planted last year were snuffed,” said Samson.
His prices are fairly typical for local tree sellers: his biggest 14-ft. trees sell for up to $70, whereas his smaller versions start at about $10 to $12. An average-sized household tree from Willow Street will be about $40.
It was a similar story at Darrell Sanderson’s lot on Main Street and College Road in Bible Hill.
Prices there have changed little since last year; $25 to $30 is typically what customers pay for an average-sized tree, with slightly bigger ones of eight or nine feet going for $50.
However, Sanderson worries over running out of trees this year, despite better growing weather.
While he has his own lot, he buys extra trees for resale from other buyers, but many are shipping product to the United States. One potential seller recently informed Sanderson that another 10,000 Nova Scotia trees are headed south of the border.
If tree growers run short of mature trees, they can harvest smaller, younger ones. But this leaves less future product to mature into bigger trees that can be sold for higher prices.
“If you cut them when they’re short, eventually it’s going to catch up with you,” said Sanderson.
Over at the Christmas tree lot outside the Sobeys at 985 Prince St., seller Allan Chisholm said his prices have held steady for the last three to four years. The going rate is about $25 for a six-footer and about $50 for bigger trees, similar to Sanderson’s lot.
However, the quality of his trees this year has improved, thanks to a lack of frost. His entire stock is balsam firs, which likely have thicker and bushier branches compared to 2018.
“The trees might be better quality,” said Chisholm.