(NEW YORK) — The holidays are fast approaching and as people prepare to pick out the perfect pine to decorate for Christmas, some growers are warning the holiday staple could be in short supply.
Some Christmas tree farms that have been holiday fixtures for decades said they won’t be open this season.
Shamrock Christmas Tree Farm owner Joe Shipman told ABC News’ Good Morning America that a major shipment of the most popular Fraser Christmas trees was canceled for his Long Island business due to the shortages.
“Our first trailer load of trees would come in — these bins would be full with trees, various sizes, and you can see there are no trees here,” he said while showing off the empty bins.
For the first time in 30 years, Shipman said they’ll have to take this holiday season off.
“We didn’t want to open just partial and have people come in and be disappointed,” Shipman said. “We felt the right decision was to close the farm this year, let the field get a little bit bigger, give us time to source some trees for next year.”
Another Christmas tree farm, Christmas Town in Louisiana, told GMA they will be closed for the 2023 season as well because the farm “suffered extensive damage due to drought and heat.”
Experts say several factors could be contributing, including drought and the Canadian wildfires, but also believe there will still be plenty of options.
Marsha Gray, executive director of The Real Christmas Tree Board, told GMA that “there’s nothing more frustrating to a farm or retail location than [when] they don’t have the inventory that they want or need for a season.”
“It really is not the story nationwide and we have a really good supply of trees,” she said.
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