A Droop In Sales Iced-Up Christmas Trees Too Heavy To Take Home

What’s green and white and weighs 700 pounds?

A Spokane Christmas tree.

Growers at several Christmas tree farms said Monday they may not open this week because their trees are coated by up to an inch of ice.

“They weigh 700 pounds,” said Dan Kenreck, co-owner of Sunwest Farms, a popular spot west of Fairchild Air Force Base for sleigh rides and a choice of 10,000 trees.

For tree farms in the path of last week’s ice storm, the timing was unfortunate. The majority of Christmas tree sales occur from Thanksgiving through mid-December.

But for farms at higher elevations, where freezing rain turned to heavy snow, the storm could shift more business their way.

At Green Bluff, Deer Park and Elk, farmers reported little ice and no damage to the trees. Customers willing to walk through 15 inches of snow can still cut a tree. Prices range from $15 to $30, depending on size and variety.

“We sold our first tree Saturday, but they didn’t walk in very far,” said Kay Summerlin, owner of Summerlin Christmas Trees, which grows 16,000 trees northeast of Deer Park.

Kenreck and other Christmas tree farmers at lower elevations said thus far their trees do not appear to be seriously damaged. But a strong wind, or customers dragging ice-encased trees to their cars, would snap branches.

Kenreck said he is experimenting with plastic covers to see if enough solar heat can be generated to thaw smaller trees before Christmas.

Don Bergman, owner of Bergman’s Christmas Trees in the Spokane Valley, said he’s waiting for a thaw before opening his farm.

“We’re going to have to have a pretty good melt-down to clear this up,” said Bergman, who has an inch of ice on 7-1/2 acres of trees. “I may not cut a single one this year.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo