John Weaver and his family had Thanksgiving dinner last week in a gravel lot on the shoulder of Signal Mountain Road, but they're good with that.
Weaver and his wife, Suzanne, own Weaver Tree Farms and the gravel lot next to the Baylor School entrance. That's where, from mid-November to mid-December for the past 37 years, they have sold Fraser fir trees harvested from their West Jefferson, North Carolina farm -- and do what they can with the Thanksgiving feast.
Last year, amid concerns about tree shortages coming out of the pandemic, Weaver said he sold out of trees by Dec. 12 and was back on his North Carolina farm 12 days ahead of Christmas.
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The 61-year-old North Carolina tree farmer expects to be selling trees longer this year. But Weaver said demand and sales have remained brisk despite higher prices caused by inflation and more economic concerns this year amid a more uncertain economic outlook next year.
"Inflation has hit all of us, but we've tried to keep our prices as close to last year as we could although they are up from last year," Weaver said this week before loading up another tree on the car roof of a buyer. "So far, we've got plenty of trees, but it may change after this weekend."
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Weaver and other growers have had to cope this year with higher fuel, labor and fertilizer costs. Prices of some pesticides and weed control sprays like Roundup jumped nearly four-fold earlier this year before dropping later in the year.
The Real Christmas Tree Board surveyed 55 major tree wholesalers in August, and a majority said they were raising prices 5% to 15% this year, with a few predicting price hikes of over 20%.
Logan Lord typically buys an evergreen wreath for his Hixson home, but the $39 price tag for such a wreath at one local lot this year was more than what L0rd has typically paid, so he decided to shop around some more.
"We love the smell and natural look of a Christmas wreath, but I don't remember it costing this much last year," Lord said after pricing a wreath Wednesday night.
But others are resolved to keeping the holiday tradition of a real fir tree again this year, even if it is a bit more costly.
"I love the smell, and it feels more like Christmas to have a real tree," North Chattanooga homeowner Jennifer Defoor said while buying an 8-foot Fraser fir from the Tom Sawyer Tree Farm lot on Manufacturers Road.
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Supplies of real Christmas trees, which typically take five to 15 years to grow, have been limited since 2016 in the aftermath of earlier recessions in the industry. Supplies look somewhat better this year, but many lots are likely to sell out before Christmas.
"The real Christmas tree industry met demand last year, and it will meet demand this year," Marsha Gray, executive director of the Real Christmas Tree Board, said in the association's annual forecast. "And 87% (of retail respondents surveyed) told us they found the tree they wanted at the first place they looked."
Haley Mills, who has managed the Tom Sawyer Tree Farm lot in Chattanooga for the past 13 years, said the lot is getting fresh tree supplies every week from Sawyer's tree farm in Cashiers, North Carolina.
"This was a really good year for us, and we've got some great trees of all sizes," she said.
Jill Sidebottom, a spokeswoman for the National Christmas Tree Association, said she thinks more Americans are eager to return to a more authentic real evergreen tree in their homes for the holidays.
"It's a beautiful experience to have a real tree in your home at Christmas, and I think a lot of people are getting back to that," Sidebottom said in a telephone interview. "People want a real experience, and having that plastic brush in your house, I think, is tacky and ugly."
Tree growers also argue that real trees are more environmentally friendly, even with a new tree being cut down every year compared with reusing an artificial tree for many years.
"Artificial trees are going to end up in a landfill someday, even if you use it for 40 years," Sidebottom said. "Real Christmas trees are completely recyclable, and while they are grown, they provide habitat for all kinds of wildlife."
Weaver says he plants 10,000 new trees each March on his 180-acre farm in North Carolina, on which 250,000 trees are growing at any one time. He also plants pumpkins in May.
"I had an aunt and uncle who lived here 50 years ago, and they suggested we come here," Weaver said in explaining why he comes to Chattanooga every year to sell his trees "We opened our first retail location here in 1985. When my mother and father aged out, I kept going with it. When I first came here in 1985 and saw downtown, I wasn't sure I belonged here. But ever since, with all the improvements, it's just great. I'm proud of what Chattanooga's done."
Weaver also uses his lot on Signal Mountain Boulevard to sell pumpkins in the fall before Halloween. Once the pumpkins are gone, Weaver returns to North Carolina, where he spends a little over a week, harvesting about 1,000 trees per day.
Weaver said he grows all Fraser firs, which he says offer the best needle retention, color and smell.
"When you walk into a home with a fresh Fraser fir, it really starts the holiday season," Weaver said.
By the numbers
* Nearly 21 million real Christmas trees were purchased in 2021, and a similar number are expected to sell this year.
* The median price of real trees bought last year was $69.50, but pries are expected to be up this year anywhere from 5% to 20% with fir trees generally priced above pine trees. Most trees are also priced by their height and overall attractiveness.
* Among the 10,095 Christmas tree-growing farms in the U.S., 74 are in Tennessee, 106 are in Georgia and 48 are in Alabama.
* North Carolina is the biggest Christmas tree-growing state in the Southeast (and second only to Oregon nationally) with 653 Christmas tree farms that grow over 4 million trees cur every year.
* 80% of artificial trees are produced in China.
* The best-selling real Christmas trees, in order, are Fraser fir, Noble fir, Douglas fir, Balsam fir and Scotch pine.
Sources: National Christmas Tree Association, USDA 2017 census of agriculture, U.S. Department of Commerce
Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or Bob Gary at bgary@timesfreepress.com.