SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Fuel costs, worker shortages, drought and fires have all led to increased Christmas tree costs. Like many others, a Pocket-Greenhaven neighborhood tree lot owner increased their costs to keep up.
"Oh yeah, prices are up this year a little bit," said Gregg Jones, co-owner of Chad's Christmas Trees. "We try to be fair certainly, but when prices go up, there's not much we can do, so we have to share a little bit of that cost."
Jones' tree lot in the Pocket-Greenhaven neighborhood of Sacramento was not the only business experiencing cost increases. Most Christmas tree lots in the region got their supply from farms in Oregon, and many were hit by drought and fires in 2021. Jones said the biggest impact was on larger trees.
"These trees grow a foot a year," he said. "A lot of larger trees, 8 feet and up... that crop has been decimated."
According to Jones, some Oregon farms lost 20 to 30% of their crop.
On top of inclement conditions, fuel costs and tree farm worker shortages also played a part, leading to up to 15% higher lot prices.
"It's just a triple whammy on something like that," Jones said. "It hurts it a lot."
None the less, people were still set on grabbing their holiday trees. Jones said he expected his silver tip fir trees to sell out by the end of the weekend. He said Christmas tree seekers should get a move on, especially those who are in the market for a larger tree.
"Get here early," he said. "This next weekend is generally the busiest time in a Christmas tree buying season."
WATCH ALSO:
