As soon as the calendar turns to December, it may be a good idea to consider where you will acquire your family’s Christmas tree this year. But this year Mother Nature had made it difficult for you to put your hands on a real Christmas tree.
The second largest producer of Christmas trees in the United States is North Carolina. Most Christmas trees in Florida are imported from the Midwest or the Carolinas. However, Hurricane Helene has caused devastating flooding at a number of Christmas tree farms shortly before the 2024 holiday season. Heavy rains and polluted water injured farms causing worries about the industry’s future and the supply of Christmas trees for the holiday.
The Western North Carolina is home to about 22% of the country’s Christmas trees with the western mountains accounting for a large amount. It should come as no surprise that Christmas trees are very popular here but as the Christmas season approaches some farmers are realising the effects of a harsh hurricane season and a string of storms that flooded parts of the Carolinas.
One farm claims that they lost up to 80,000 trees in Avery County, North Carolina alone and the majority of farmers say that between 5% and 10% of their inventory of Christmas trees flooded after Helene dumped more than 20 inches of rain in two weeks in many of the tree farms.
The North Carolina Forest Service reports that 822,000 acres of timberland were damaged and wiped out by winds from Hurricane Helene.
“We do not expect the aftermath of Hurricane Helene to have a significant effect on the supply of real North Carolina Fraser Fir Christmas trees this holiday season,” said Jennifer Greene, the executive director of the North Carolina Christmas Tree Association.
There are several different types of Christmas trees that are cultivated in the Carolinas. Cypress, cedar and pine trees make up almost everywhere but the Fraser fir is the most popular tree in the Carolinas.
High winds additionally changed the shape of numerous Christmas trees. The majority of the tree’s wind damage was from being leaned over which crushed branches. According to state officials some farms did lose some of their large trees but they hope that a lot of holiday customers will visit in the coming weeks and will purchase the trees which they are left with.
An average of five to six million Christmas trees are harvested annually by farmers in North Carolina. For the state such a type of harvest generates an estimated $250 million in market value. According to officials, the area also benefits from Christmas tree sales in terms of jobs, income and tax revenue.
Despite the damage caused by the flood, the South Carolina Christmas Tree Association said they are not expecting price increases from Christmas tree farms this holiday season. Purchasing a Christmas tree from the Carolinas this year will help to continue their tradition for years in the future, according to Christmas tree farmers who said that growing Christmas trees is a family business.
