The Christmas tree growing season was a success this year in North Carolina, despite fears about lingering impacts from Helene.
The state annually harvests 2-3 million Christmas trees from farms spread over 33,000 acres — many of them in the High Country. Will Kohlway, an extension specialist in Christmas tree production at NC State University, says it’s been a good year for growers.
“We had rain equally spread out throughout the year, instead of all at once," he says. "We didn't have many droughts. We had good temperatures. Our trees look really great.”
The industry did face some setbacks from Helene, though. He says seedling growers were particularly hard hit because they plant on flat ground.
“A lot of times that's on lower elevation closer to the water," he says. "So when the flooding hit, we had some nursery producers that had basically everything outside washed away.”
Kohlway notes that many seedling farmers received government funding in order to stay afloat. He says growers were able to source seedlings from areas that weren’t affected, keeping tree supply — and prices — stable this year.