Christmas tree lots are reporting supply shortages and higher prices this holiday season.

People looking for live Christmas trees should start shopping sooner, according to a press release from Evergrow, a Fraser Valley company that delivers potted trees and then replants them after the holidays.

乌鸦传媒淲e乌鸦传媒檙e talking to farmers who are telling us over a third of their trees for the season are damaged so badly they can乌鸦传媒檛 sell them,乌鸦传媒� said Evergrow CEO Paige Wheaton. 乌鸦传媒淢any farms are planning to open for only one or two weekends in November because they know they will be sold out by then.乌鸦传媒�

Joan Fleming said that while her Vancouver Island farm, Saanichton Christmas Tree Farm, has plenty of supply, many tree lots that import trees rather than grow them are struggling to meet demand.

乌鸦传媒淎 lot of wholesale lots, they乌鸦传媒檙e having a hard time getting trees because there is a shortage because of that heat dome and those trees got scorched, whereas luckily, mine didn乌鸦传媒檛,乌鸦传媒� Fleming said.

Happy Holidays Christmas Tree Co., a pop-up holiday shop in Langford that sells trees and other gifts, said the two B.C. tree farms they have worked with have had some setbacks as well.

While extreme heat is partly to blame, Debbie Stroshein the owner of Happy Holidays Christmas Tree Co., said there are many reasons for low inventory and high prices, including fewer local farmers.

乌鸦传媒淢ore and more of the tree farmers are retiring with no longevity plan,乌鸦传媒� Stroshein said. 乌鸦传媒淭wo large producers I乌鸦传媒檝e worked with in the last five years have closed or drastically reduced inventory. I am seeing more and more trees grown in the U.S.A. showing up on racks here.乌鸦传媒�

Stroshein said that the cost of getting trees to Victoria has also doubled in the past two years, which is contributing to the spike in prices for consumers.

For previous seasons, Stronshein said she was able to source locally, but with shifting dynamics in the industry such as older farmers retiring and U.S. markets buying Canadian, she乌鸦传媒檚 had to import some of her trees from other places.

According to the press release, farm owners and experts are citing 2021 as one of the worst growing years since the 乌鸦传媒�80s, but Kelly Chashai from Metchosin乌鸦传媒檚 Down to Earth Nursery said today乌鸦传媒檚 tree supply is still being impacted by wildfires from years ago.

乌鸦传媒淓ven though the fires weren乌鸦传媒檛 so bad this year, that did have a big effect as trees take about seven to 10 years to grow before they are cut,乌鸦传媒� Chashai said. 乌鸦传媒淪o the events of five years ago and three years ago are really impacting today.乌鸦传媒�

Most of the trees that Down to Earth Nursery is selling this season come from the Fraser Valley and across B.C., and they are not having issues keeping up with demand. However, for smaller and less established Christmas tree lots, keeping prices low during inflation and maintaining supply is a struggle that Stroshein anticipates being around for a while.

乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 changing,乌鸦传媒� she said. 乌鸦传媒淚乌鸦传媒檓 not sure what that future looks like for a lot of small businesses. Some really small ones I know of have disappeared altogether.乌鸦传媒�

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