State of the Christmas tree industry in Pennsylvania

• Asia Tabb
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  Asia Tabb is the Host and Producer for WITF’s The Spark.
  
  She began her start in radio when she joined legendary radio/ host producer, Doc Christian. She worked closely with Doc for her role on “The Gospel Express, on WHOV 88.1 FM and was a host for “Unrestricted Praise” at Praise FM.
  
  Previously she was an anchor in Shreveport, Louisiana at KTAL/KMSS. Asia also worked as a Multi-Media Journalist at WHP-TV here in Harrisburg, PA.
  
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  Asia was born and raised in Norfolk, Va. She graduated from Old Dominion University in 2018 with a major in Communications.
  
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 Becca Haydu / WHYY

Families braved the cold and rainy weather at Linvilla Orchards in Media, Pennsylvania on Sunday.

Aired; August 19th, 2024.

According to the Pennsylvania Tree Growers Association, Pennsylvania ranks third in the nation for the number of Christmas tree farms. There are more than 1,400 Christmas trees in Pennsylvania.

The winter holidays are months away, but for the tree farmers, it’s a year long process. Gerrit Strathmeyer Jr, President of the PA Christmas Tree Association says tree farms are a large investment.

“So, from when we plant a tree in the field, when it is, four years old from seed, it takes another 6 to 8 years to get up to 6 to 8ft for when you, put it in your household.”

There is also a lot of future planning when it comes to planting a Christmas tree farm. Farmers must plan 6-8 years in advance when planting trees.

“You kind of look at it as a 9-to-10-year crop rotation. So, you’re trying to, portion off, per se, your acreage, your available acreage to plant on, over a ten year span and figure out. So, say you have 100 acres to plant on you at max. You have ten acres to use each year, because by the time you get to that end of the cycle, you’re back to the first starting spot. Yeah. The long, long planning process that that it goes. It takes a while, but then it’s over before you know it.”

On average, it takes nearly a year for a Christmas tree to grow a foot. That’s why the larger trees are typically more expensive than the petite ones.

“So, each year you’re putting in your mowing, your spray, your shearing costs into it. Plus, the chemicals or whatever else equipment costs go into it. So yeah, it’s that cumulative ten-year buildup of class.”

Climate change has a huge impact on the Christmas tree farms. Strathmeyer says Pennsylvania has an advantage experiencing all four seasons yearly.

 “It does help plants and trees in this case to go dormant during winter. And not always just be in the heat in the thick of the weather. So that that is a good thing. So, Pennsylvania, location wise, it’s been an ideal, growing area. Yeah. For all the seasons to help to contribute with your April quote unquote, April showers, where you get a little bit heavier rainfall those months, and warm up during the warmer months of May and June help push the new growth out. Now, you don’t obviously want the dry without rain. You always want some sort of rain off night. But, yeah, I think, Pennsylvania’s located in a good spot to shoot for Christmas trees, specifically to, to grow and grow well.”