LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Monday mornings at Huber's Orchard and Winery aren't exactly peak hours for business, but this morning, the Southern Indiana farm has already sold three Christmas trees.
"We've got some varieties up to 12 to 13 feet tall this year, so we've got really nice ones," farm production manager AJ Huber said.
Huber said the farm had a good growing season this year but that's not the case with many other tree farms in the area who have suffered from this year's drought that followed a wet spring. Huber said the farm grows thousands of trees every year, but it also imports trees from other farms to add more variety for shoppers and it has noticed these trends.
"We have noticed it's a little harder to get some trees that we get from other areas," Huber said.
He said the key to growing good trees is patience, with trees taking anywhere from six to 12 years before they're ready to be chopped down and topped with a star. So while one bad season won't make or break a crop, the effects of this year's weather might not be visible until years down the road.
Another factor impacting the nationwide supply of Christmas trees is the economy - specifically the recession of 2008.
"With the recession 10 years ago, some people either got out of the business or slowed down a little bit, but we were confident that people would want the experience, so we kept planting and powering through," Huber said.
With the supply of trees dropping around the nation over the past few years and the demand for Christmas cheer remaining the same, the price of the trees has gone up. According to a study by MarketWatch, the average price of a tree has doubled in just the past five years, from $39.50 in 2013 to $78 in 2018.
For those looking to save a little money on the tree this year, it may actually help for once to procrastinate. According to Square, the average cost of a tree is at its highest around Thanksgiving before gradually falling the closer it gets to Christmas.
►Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the WHAS11 News app now. For Apple or Android users.
Have a news tip? Email assign@whas11.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.
►Contact reporter Dennis Ting at dting@whas11.com. Follow him on Twitter (@DennisJTing) and Facebook.