KNOX COUNTY – COVID-19 has inflicted much damage this year, but it hasn’t cut Christmas tree sales in Knox County.
“Sales have been the most brisk I have seen in the last 60 years,” said Pete Stadtlander, who with his wife Judy owns Stonehaven Tree Farm in Centerburg. “We’re almost out of trees. Many of the tree growers that I know of were closed before December because they were sold out.”
The story is the same at Rural King in Mount Vernon.
“We’re selling the trees,” manager Larry Scheid told the Mount Vernon News. “I got in 175 and we’re probably down to about 100 right now.”
The same thing is happening across the United States as people cancel vacation plans and stay at home for the holidays, a report on USA Today said.
Median prices nationally have also risen 7% to $81, Bloomberg News reported. Each year, approximately 25- to 30 million Christmas trees are sold in the United States. This year, buyers have been snapping them up earlier than usual.
In Knox County, however, sellers report prices about the same as last year.
Rural King reduced its price to $19.93 for a pre-cut, six-foot tree.
“We decided to put them on special just to help people out,” Scheid said.
The manager noted that Christmas decorations are also selling well.
“People are staying home, so they’re doing a little more decorating,” he said.
COVID-19 did force Stonehaven Tree Farm to cancel its annual tradition of serving hot chocolate to customers.
“We normally give away gallons of hot cocoa in our store,” Stadlander told the News. “This year, we don’t have our store open because of COVID.”
Instead, this year the farm gives away bags of hot chocolate mix, candy canes and coloring books for kids, he said.
Stonehaven’s inventory is down to several dozen trees with roots on them for people who want to plant them in the ground after Christmas, along with a couple of dozen cut-your-own trees that are tagged for cutting when they reach about six feet tall. Anything shorter isn’t tagged.
“We have to limit to a degree or we won’t have anything for next year,” Stadlander said.
For customers with really high ceilings, the farm has trees that are 16-feet tall and sell for $100 - $150.
“We’re out of those right now,” said Stadlander, who has been in the Christmas tree business most of his life. “Those are really nice trees and they go quick.”
