Baltimore area sees increased demand for Christmas trees
Amid chaos of pandemic, many search for ‘some kind of sense of normal’
Without church and visiting his motherin-law’s house on Christmas Eve as usual due to the coronavirus pandemic, any Christmas tradition means more this year to Adam Eastham.
Eastham, his wife, Deirdre, and their young children, Amelia and Elle, all went to Baltimore’s St. Pius X Church’s Christmas tree lot Wednesday for the third straight year. It was the first time Elle, 3, their youngest, was more involved and understood more about what’s going on.
“It’s a little more meaningful that they get a say in it now, as opposed to just decorating and having Christmas. It’s fun to actually go to the lot and have them give their input,” the Towson father said. “It’s not always good input, but it’s nice to have them give some input on what we’re doing.”
Looking for normalcy during a pandemic that has upended much of daily life, many people in the Baltimore area and across the country are a turning to Christmas trees.
Some area lots already have seen a larger than usual run on trees, including the
popular tree lot at St. Pius, which more than doubled its sales in its first weekend this year compared to its first weekend in 2019.
“The people that you talk to that are coming in, they just want some kind of sense of normal,” said Deacon Patrick Woods, pastoral associate at St. Pius. “And what’s more normal Christmas than a Christmas tree?”
Nationwide, 21% of those polled who used an artificial Christmas tree or no tree last year say they are more likely to buy a real tree this year, according to a survey from data analytics firm TRUE Global Intelligence. Many surveyed said the switch was “a response to the pandemic and a resulting desire to add more cheer to their Christmas as they close out 2020.”
Joncie Underwood, treasurer of the Maryland Christmas Tree Association and a vice president of the National Christmas Tree Association, said she expects sales of real trees to be up 15% nationwide.
With the pandemic impacting some types of businesses more than others, it was unclear before the TRUE Global Intelligence survey what to expect in terms of tree demand this year, said Marsha Gray, executive director of the Christmas Tree Promotion Board.
Unlike some other industries, it’s hard to ramp up production, as it typically takes about eight years to grow Christmas trees.
“Clearly, consumers were excited. They were looking forward to Christmas and thought a real Christmas tree would be a great way to end a bad year on a really positive note,” Gray said.
But the spike in demand isn’t expected to mean people who want trees won’t be able to get them. For several years, despite fears of a tree shortage, most areas have not run out of trees, Gray
said.
“There are plenty of trees for everybody that wants one,” Gray said.
Underwood, who is also a co-owner of Pine Valley Christmas Trees, a Cecil County tree farm, encouraged would-be buyers to get their trees early this year.
“That way, you can en
sure that it’s being watered and not standing out in the sun,” Underwood said.
Given very “brisk” early sales, Underwood wishes she had 1,000 more trees to sell. Her farm is sold out of trees, according to its website. A neighboring farm didn’t open due to COVID-19 this year, she said, adding pressure as its
customers came to her farm.
Many “choose-and-cut” farms will close after this weekend due to running out of trees, she said.
At St. Pius X Church, just north of the Baltimore City/ County line on York Road, Woods said he thinks the rampant tree-buying will continue. The lot usually
sells out of its about 1,200 trees right before Christmas, but Woods expects the lot will sell out of its trees earlier this year, after its busy first weekend.
“People you would expect to see in the later part of December to get their tree are opting to get their tree now because they just want something normal,”
Woods said.
The lot has an opportunity to buy 400 more trees to sell and thinks it will do that “to meet the demand of the people,” Woods said.
Vendors usually have to order their trees in June or July, which complicated calculating what quantities to purchase during the pandemic, said Matthew Wittek, the owner of Northeast Baltimore’s Walther Gardens. Wittek took a “shot in the dark” and ordered more trees this year due to strong demand for gardening supplies in the spring.
“Our sales in the springtime were pretty strong due to people staying home and planting flower boxes, fixing up the gardens in the back and trying to grow their own produce and vegetables and herbs,” Wittek said.
He has had a tougher time getting some varieties of trees, but overall, he has gotten what he has needed, he said.
Walther Gardens likely will sell out in about two weeks since opening after Thanksgiving, with its busiest days likely having come already in the days after the holiday, Wittek said.
“I think it’s because people are spending more time at home and need something to do for the kids,” Wittek said. “They’re probably just jumping at the gun ready to get the tree up.”
In Carroll County’s Sykesville, Wolfe’s Pine Valley Farms sold out of trees and closed this week after opening its lot and “chooseand-cut” operation Nov. 18. Owner Holden Wolfe said he has been telling customers to come get their trees early.
“This whole coronavirus has brought families together more and they want to do activities,” Wolfe said. “This is definitely one they can do this time of the year. There’s been people that don’t normally get a tree that are coming out just because of that.”