If you're heading out to buy a Christmas tree this winter, the recent drought won't have much of an impact, but tree farms operate on a much longer timetable than many of us.
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00:00Thanksgiving has passed and with Christmas on the horizon, families all
00:04across the country are ready to pick out their Christmas trees. We love coming
00:08being able to choose your own tree to cut it down. It's just it's a great
00:12experience. The Gleason family has been coming to Mansfield Christmas tree farm
00:16in New Jersey for the past nine years. Their daughters, Parker and Remy now
00:21grown playing a huge role in picking out the perfect tree this year. I think
00:27just like the shaping and like how tall so it actually fits through the door.
00:31So leading into this season, many wondered if the drought across the
00:35northeast would impact Christmas tree sales. Thankfully, any issues that other
00:40farms may have faced aren't running into any problems for Christmas trees
00:44this year. Here in Mansfield, the farm has been incredibly proactive, losing
00:49less than 1% of its trees. They're crediting rain earlier in the season
00:53and moisture retaining soil for helping their trees survive. The trees
00:58are the most vulnerable when we first plant them when they're babies, their
01:02roots aren't established yet. I'm not sure if you realize, but some of these
01:05bigger trees, they actually have roots that go down several feet and they're
01:09able to grab the water. Still, we always plant in mid to late march so we can
01:14get full all that rain that comes in the spring in april to make sure that
01:19the tree is able to get established as soon as possible. But the situation
01:23across the region paints a much drier, more uncertain future for Christmas
01:26tree growers. On some farms, high percentages of young seedlings failed
01:31to survive this growing season without enough water. Small trees simply can't
01:35develop the strong roots they need to grow into the holiday staples will see
01:39years from now. It's really an 8-10 year process. So anything that we've
01:44planted this past spring would really be available in that 2035 area, 2034.
01:50So it takes time and a lot of work. When those years arrived, some farms
01:54may face issues like fewer available trees, leading to increased demand and
01:59higher prices across the northeast. But again, for shoppers this year, there's
02:03no need to worry. The mature trees ready for sale were planted well before
02:07these dry conditions set in for Accuweather. I'm Allie Reed.