What are we paying for natural Christmas trees this year?

[imjustawarrior]

Do you guys all live in the 1980s? In Austin, we paid $190 for a six-foot tree. Noble fir, I think. A 10-footer had a tag for $360.

Wow! That is expensive.

I guess where you live makes a big difference. When there are Christmas trees growing all over town and in the mountains all around you, Christmas trees are much less expensive. I can cut my own for less than $20 (permit fee for state or federal forest). I know enough people that have property, I could probably cut a tree for free.

As I am typing, I am looking at my 45 foot blue spruce out my window.

 

[AudiDudi]

Meanwhile, back in the days of aluminum trees and color wheels, you could go cut your own.

 

[jollystomper]

Do you guys all live in the 1980s? In Austin, we paid $190 for a six-foot tree. Noble fir, I think. A 10-footer had a tag for $360.

It helps to live in a suburban/rural area . Within 15 miles of us are 10 Christmas Tree farms, or farms/nurseries selling pine trees this time of year. Add in the 4 scout troops in the area that are also selling trees, and that makes for a lot of local competition. We have run into people driving from cities over an hour away to get trees from our area.

 

[timbervest]

We bought a 9' prelit artificial tree in 2016. Living in Southern California and having forced air heating (combined with wanting it up right after Thanksgiving and DW's desire to have the tree up until Epiphany), required a non natural tree (which in the early days was pretty much a twig by New Years). After 9 years I think I am in the black vs natural trees.

 

[JoeWras]

Do you guys all live in the 1980s? In Austin, we paid $190 for a six-foot tree. Noble fir, I think. A 10-footer had a tag for $360.

Well, some of us live in near rain forests, so growers can locate nearly anywhere.

I don't know what we pay for mesquite chips for the BBQ, but it is probably twice what you pay.

 

[Trailwalker]

We bought a 9' prelit artificial tree in 2016. Living in Southern California and having forced air heating (combined with wanting it up right after Thanksgiving and DW's desire to have the tree up until Epiphany), required a non natural tree (which in the early days was pretty much a twig by New Years). After 9 years I think I am in the black vs natural trees.

Artificial trees are definitely cheaper and no messy sap or needles. There's nothing like the smell of a freshly cut Christmas tree in the living room though.

 

[erkevin]

I was pleasantly surprised. $48 for a 6-7 ft Noble in Tucson. Much cheaper than last year.

 

[Koolau]

We bought a 9' prelit artificial tree in 2016. Living in Southern California and having forced air heating (combined with wanting it up right after Thanksgiving and DW's desire to have the tree up until Epiphany), required a non natural tree (which in the early days was pretty much a twig by New Years). After 9 years I think I am in the black vs natural trees.

Here in Paradise, it's cheaper to buy an artificial and then throw it away (donate, probably) than to rent storage space for it. We did buy a 7 foot artificial one year and then realized we had NO place to store it. Storage was at least $100/month for something big enough for that tree. Live and learn.

 

[Qs Laptop]

Bought a 6 1/2 foot Balsam Fir yesterday at Home Depot for $72.99. Minneapolis/St. Paul area. IIRC, this was about the same as last year.

Previously would get a 6 foot Scotch Pine for around $35 but no scotch pines to be seen this year or last year.

Does anybody know if the trees we buy at Christmas are the full tree cut off at the base (near the ground) or are they the last 6 feet of the tops of large pine trees that are cut off?

 

[gwill1010]

Here in Yorba Linda/Orange County, the prices at the lot we go to. Plus $65 for delivery and setup.

View attachment 53213​

HOLY COW - Nope! Bah-Humbug.

 

[imjustawarrior]

Does anybody know if the trees we buy at Christmas are the full tree cut off at the base (near the ground) or are they the last 6 feet of the tops of large pine trees that are cut off?

I have always assumed full tree. I would think most Christmas trees are commercially grown to be Christmas trees. As soon as they are large enough, they harvest the whole tree from ground up.

I think most people who go into the forests and cut their own tree also take the whole tree or most of it. It is less work to take an appropriate sized tree than to go after a giant and then just top it.

 

[JoeWras]

Whole tree. In NC, growers have trees of various maturities cycling through the years.

 

[Koolau]

Whole tree. In NC, growers have trees of various maturities cycling through the years.
View attachment 53281

Cool picture. I wonder how (financially) this land usage compares to farming crops such as corn or oats, etc. Certainly looks prettier!

 

[ArmchairMillionaire]

Here's a Google Maps Street View from last summer. It's one of the tree farm lots from that $30 place down the highway from us.

It's cleaner now, as he cleans the lots up before the snow falls.

 

[JoeWras]

Cool picture. I wonder how (financially) this land usage compares to farming crops such as corn or oats, etc. Certainly looks prettier!

It does well. This is in the mid elevations of the Appalachian mountains. It is rocky. Traditional crops don't do as well. It would be goat and sheep grazing land in a different culture. Slightly below this altitude, regular crops do well and that is what is grown. Now, in the center of NC, there are Christmas trees, but usually more of a cypress kind of variety. They are nice. We should support them more, but the grocery store Food Lion is so convenient and still sources from NC nearby.

The mid elevations of the Appalachians are a sweet spot for Christmas trees for many different reasons. The #1 being something called "Frasier Fir", which is heavily desired. Higher elevations still grow the fir trees, but have logistical challenges. In NC we get the highly desired Frasier Firs for ridiculously low prices compared to most parts of the country.

 

[GaryInCO]

Here in Paradise, it's cheaper to buy an artificial and then throw it away … Storage was at least $100/month for something big enough for that tree. Live and learn.

We used to buy a 7-8' real tree every year, but now that it's just me, I downsized. Sounds like you could use a smaller option too. My Charlie Brown tree stores in a box about 6x6x20".

https://www.amazon.com/Product-24-Inch-Charlie-Christmas-Ornament/dp/B01E7AIN2A

 

[sparky08]

For the past 4 years we've gotten a $12 permit to cut down a tree in the National Forest.

Charlie Brown would be proud.

 

[timbervest]

Artificial trees are definitely cheaper and no messy sap or needles. There's nothing like the smell of a freshly cut Christmas tree in the living room though.

There is a spray for that . . .

 

[Koolau]

There is a spray for that . . .

We do sometimes buy a pine wreath from Costco for $20. The fragrance is worth the cost - then just pitch it when the season ends.

 

[Midpack]

$75 for a real tree. $200 for a fake tree. Fake tree lasted 2 years. EEEk!

Huh? Our fake tree is over 10 years old and still looks like new. It's a 4.5 footer but we leave all the lights and ornaments on it, just cover and store in a closet Jan thru Nov - it's wonderful.

 

[equakesfan]

Do you guys all live in the 1980s? In Austin, we paid $190 for a six-foot tree. Noble fir, I think. A 10-footer had a tag for $360.

We paid $126 + tax for 6-7' Noble fir in Saratoga, CA

 

[Aerides]

$75 for a real tree. $200 for a fake tree. Fake tree lasted 2 years. EEEk!

I paid about $700 for my fake tree in 2008, it was on sale as the economy was just starting to crater. 9ft, prelit.

The lights all died some years back, but I cut them off and added new ones. It separates into 4 pieces that I store in bags in the garage. It's a huge PITA, but it still looks great.

I got tired of wrestling lights off the tree each year, pine needles everywhere, and the worry that water would spill and stain/wreck my wood floor under the tree skirt.
My cats love to sit under it, but even though they are ferals by birth, they never try to climb it as they aren't fooled.

 

[MichaelB]

DW bought our tree 20 years ago after Christmas when they were cleaning out inventory. She paid less than $200, which was a real bargain for a 7’ tree. We haven’t put it up in a couple of years but this holiday we’ll have visitors so I put it up yesterday.

 

[ksr]

We just bought our tree at Lowe’s today and paid $50 for a 5 to 6 foot Frasier Fir. A 6 to 7 foot tree would have been $65.

 

[MarieIG]

Seven foot - $80.