Christmas tree farms across Northeast Ohio are open and expecting a big holiday season.
At Sugar Pines Christmas Tree Farm in Chesterland, owner Jane Neubauer expects a lot of business.
“Our phones have been ringing off the hook, my email, texting, Thanksgiving is late again this year, later than it is some years, so people are really eager to get going on the holidays.”
Jessica Yeager, operations manager at Storeyland Christmas Tree Farm in Burghill, said their Trumbull County farm is also anticipating a robust season this year, a continuation of the noticeable uptick in sales each year going back to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It was something they were able to get out and do since it wasn’t indoors, and we’ve seen a lot of those people just continue on coming out every year,” Yeager said. “We have more customers than we did prior to 2020, but it’s stayed pretty steady each year since.”
Both farms have worked to increase their supply of trees. Storeyland has planted more trees to account for the higher demand and says it will have around 3,000 trees on hand while Sugar Pines is bringing in some additional trees from out of state and will have around 4,000 trees.
Even so, both farms aren’t confident they’ll have enough trees for the season. They both expect to run out by mid-December.
Weather could also play a factor in how long the farms stay open, according to Neubauer.
“If you have really bad weather Thanksgiving weekend, that can make your season go longer,” she said. “If you have really great weather, it can go quickly.”
The supply of trees statewide is consistent with last year, according to Gary Hite, president of the Ohio Christmas Tree Association. Despite a dry spell over the last couple of years, current Christmas trees were not affected, Hite said.
“There’s no impact from the dry season on the trees,” Hite said. “The dryness gets the young trees.”
For this season, Christmas tree farms offer a chance to more than just pick your fresh tree. Some also offer a range of family friendly activities to add to the experience. Storeyland’s extra offerings include a chance to meet miniature Highland cows. Neubauer said at Sugar Pines, they're offering hay rides, concessions, even a visit from Santa.
“It’s just love,” Neubauer said. “It’s the memory making and the tradition making and the pictures and things that come with that are hard to replace.”
