Christmas tree shortages reported amid severe North East drought: ‘We can’t grow anything’
Chris Moran of Vandervalk Farm in Mendon, Miss., shares how this year he lost 500 young Christmas trees on the farm due to unusually dry conditions in the Northeast. (Source: WBZ-TV)
It will be a December to remember that the severe drought in the Northeast is killing young Christmas trees.
The drought has led to heavy losses for farmers in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, and has also raised concerns about future shortages.
Farmers reported that up to twenty-five percent-25% of the growing trees of the year have been lost due to the unusual drought.
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Chris Moran, who works at Vandervalk Farm in Mendon, Massachusetts, said the drought killed about 500 of the 2,700 seedlings he planted last spring.
“It’s all yellow inside. The needles are falling off,” Moran told WBZ-TV. “Without water, we won’t grow anything.”
Chris Moran of Vandervalk Farm in Massachusetts says he lost 25% of his Christmas tree to the drought. (WBZ-TV / Fox News)
Normally, Moran said he might lose about 10 trees a year, but this season’s losses are much higher. Fortunately the farm’s older, mature trees – planted 10 to 15 years ago – have not been affected, so customers will not see any shortages or price increases this Christmas.
Jeff Hill, a Christmas tree grower in Orwigsburg, Pennsylvania, described a similar loss. The drought has left young trees unable to develop deep roots for moisture.
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“You can see that the root system is not deep enough to get moisture, and a lot of them can’t hold,” Hill told WNEP. “You can see the dead trees over there in the grove.”
Hill warned that the real impact will come in five to six years, when these lost seedlings will have matured into marketable trees.
“That’s where we really farm,” Hill said. “There is a shortage of Christmas trees, this means that these trees are always in short supply because you will not be able to get new ones.
The effects of this year’s dry weather will not be felt for years to come, when there will be a lack of mature trees. (WBZ/Fox News)
Moran says the bad weather is caused by climate change, and he said the challenge last year was too much rain, not too little.
“You’re not going to make it,” Moran said.
Although this year’s drought has been particularly severe, the problem is not the only one. October was the second driest on record for New York City, prompting a water conservation advisory. Forecasters expect conditions to get worse before they get better.
This year’s weather is completely different from last year: very little rain instead of a lot. (WBZ/Fox News)
Christmas tree prices have been rising in recent years. By 2023, prices were up 15% nationally, according to Forbes. In Manhattan, a 10-foot tree fetched about $550 last December, up from $350 a year earlier. A single 13-foot Fraser fir even sold for $1,750 in Kips Bay.
Moran predicts that the full economic impact of the drought will be felt in about a decade, when this year’s lost seedlings will have matured.
“In 10 years, I have 25 or 20% less of my produce to sell,” said Moran, whose family farm plants about 10,000 trees on 10 hectares.
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JC Hill Tree Farms and Vandervalk Farm & Winery did not immediately respond to FOX Business’ request for comment.
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