Christmas takes root in Lodi
Christmas tree business rebounds after drought
The Christmas tree business is booming again.
“We’ve sold about 600 trees this year, that’s 100 more than last year,” Charlie Anderson, owner of Anderson Christmas Tree Farm in Murphys, said on Wednesday. “We’ll probably be sold out by this weekend.”
Anderson offers his customers the chance to cut their own trees, with prices of $48 for trees up to eight feet tall and $10 per foot for anything taller. He also imports trees from Oregon, due to a shortage of California trees that began when farmers stopped growing them eight years ago, he said.
Anderson has also been recovering from his own shortage that occurred last year as a result of California’s recent drought. Some of his trees grow more quickly than others, though, as he grows many of them from the stumps of trees that have been cut down.
“I’ve got some trees that have been cut three times. The first tree usually takes eight or nine years to grow, but off-the-stump trees can grow in four or five years,” Anderson said.
A similar uptick in business was seen a little closer to home.
Segale Brothers, the only privately-owned Christmas tree
“We’ve sold about 600 trees this year, that’s 100 more than last year. We’ll probably be sold out by this weekend.”
CHARLIE ANDERSON OWNER, ANDERSON CHRISTMAS TREE FARM IN MURPHYS
lot in Lodi, was down to the last few trees Wednesday and hoping to close up shop for the season by Friday.
Co-owner Randy Hamilton said the biggest day for selling the trees was the day after Thanksgiving.
“Kids are home from college, and it’s a family tradition to go pick out their Christmas tree together,” he said.
One of the big draws to the Segale Brothers Christmas tree lot, located at the Grape Festival grounds, is the flocking of trees they provide. Flocking is a technique in which artificial snow is applied to the evergreen branches.
One of the popular personal touches the business offered was handing out an apple to each customer.
“We went through 600 pounds of apples,” Hamilton said.
They also deliver trees to families and businesses. Hamilton said the tallest tree sold this year was a 21-foot silver tip. It’s a popular variety, he said.
Another popular tree is the Turkish fir, which is softer and doesn’t lose a lot of needles.
Delta Tree Farms, located on Lower Sacramento Road, also offers Christmas trees, but of the potted kind. On Wednesday, nurseryman Dave Davis said it’s not a new trend, but it’s been “having its fits and starts” since the 1990s.
“I think customers just like the idea of reusing it,” he said, adding that one of his customers has plans to buy a new tree every year, and then plant them on his property after the holidays.
The trees sold potted come in different varieties than the cut Christmas trees. The farm carries a variety of spruces: Alberta, Serbian and several varieties of Colorado spruce. The varieties of spruces differ in the distance between the branches and fullness. He showed one blue Colorado spruce available, cautioning that it can be a little more prickly than other varieties.
“They come in different varieties of prickliness,” he chuckled.
To care for a potted Christmas tree, Hamilton recommends watering the tree well the day bringing it home, and leaving it outside for the first night before bringing it in. A potted tree is also significantly heavier, so he recommends using a hand truck to bring it in, as well as protecting the floor with a blanket or something similar while moving it.
After the tree has adorned your home for the holidays, he recommends returning the tree to the yard, either still potted, or to be planted in the ground. The trees like a lot of light, but due to the very hot summer days the area experiences, he recommends planting it in partial shade to give it a break from the sun.
“Maybe next to another tree, or under the canopy of a larger one,” he said. They also need good drainage in the soil.
Up the road at Lowe’s, Fawn Gowetski, her mom Cheri Gowetski and Ronald Hacker, all of Lodi, were looking for their ideal tree.
“We’re looking for a noble fir,” Cheri Gowetski said. They debated between three different trees before settling on that variety — their favorite. After deciding on their tree, they learned that the store was running a special — get one tree of equal or lesser value for free with the purchase of one tree.
They settled on a second small tree that they plan to donate to a less fortunate family, to spread some cheer and make their Christmas more joyous.
“There aren’t that many out there that can enjoy a Christmas,” Hacker said. “I know I had a couple of Christmases like that.”