According to some local growers, the market for Christmas trees has been red hot this year, mirroring a shortage that is being felt across most of the province.
Tim Diebel of Outback Tree Farm near Listowel says, "This year we had an outstanding number of people come early in the season for a tree. In other years, we would be selling out one week before Christmas, but this year, we are close to having no trees left at all".
Some have blamed the hot market on the 2008 recession, which was a time when some tree farmers chose not to expand operations, and the timing seems to line up, with trees usually taking anywhere between 10 to 12 years to grow from seed to harvest.
Diebel also feels recent growth in the area could be driving the local side of the shortage, saying "I think there's been a greater push for fresh cut Christmas trees compared to the past, but I think where part of the market has developed is with all the new housing developments, and trees that would have been cut for Christmas trees are now being used as landscaping trees."
