Christmas Tree Farmers Cutting Back After 21 Years On Farm, The Starlings Are Nearing Retirement

As a boy, Raymond Starling would watch his father cut down trees in the woods of Eureka, Mont., and haul them home a couple of weeks before Christmas.

Nearly 60 years later, Starling and his wife, Peggy, are entering their 21st year of running their own tree farm, located at 10001 E. Bigelow Gulch in northeast Spokane.

“Christmas trees have been a lifelong thing for me,” Raymond Starling said.

For the Starlings and other Christmas tree merchants, the long Thanksgiving weekend marks the start of tree-buying season.

The Starlings, both 65, have owned the 10-acre choose-and-cut tree farm since 1979. But business has been slow for the past few years, and the couple is preparing for retirement, Raymond Starling said.

Last year, the Starlings decided not to plant any more trees, preparing to quit the business after they sell the remaining trees.

With acres of trees still standing, however, the business will probably be around for another Christmas or two, Peggy Starling said.

“People come out to visit, and then you don’t see them for the rest of the year,” she said. “We’re on a first-name basis with some of the families. Some of them even stay for coffee. I’m going to miss it.”

Melinda Sweeney picked up her ninth Christmas tree from the Starlings on Saturday afternoon.

She likes coming to the farm because they cut the trees for her and she likes their convenient system for choosing a tree, she said.

“They are so nice. I’ll come down and choose a tree and (Raymond) always calls me when he’s ready for me to come back and get it,” Sweeney said.

The way the farm works, the trees are tagged with a claim check that marks their size and price. Trees are about $4 per foot at the Starling farm.

The Starlings encourage their customers to pick a tree as early as October and to pick it up anytime after Thanksgiving.

The National Christmas Tree Association, based in St. Louis, reports that 85 percent of all Christmas trees nationwide are sold Thanksgiving weekend.

For the Starlings, the weekend of Dec. 15 is busiest time. It’s the ideal time to take a tree home in terms of average tree lifespan, they said.

Victor Dietz, owner of Dietz Tree Farm in Green Bluff, agrees.

By Saturday evening, Dietz said he sold about 300 trees. He expects to move 1,000 trees on the weekend of Dec. 15, he said.

The NCTA also reports that the Scotch pine is the top-selling tree in the United States, although it’s most popular in the Midwest.

In the Spokane area, grand fir and concolor fir trees seem to be more popular, tree farmers say.

The Scotch pine is much bushier and has sharper needles, making it more difficult to decorate, Peggy Starling said.

The grand fir, on the other hand, will start drooping as early as two weeks after it’s been cut, she said.

“People are choosing a looser tree. The fir is pretty much the standard,” Raymond Starling said.

Patty Clouse, at Camden Ranch Christmas Trees in Elk, Wa., said the grand fir, with its dark green coloring, is the most fragrant of fir trees.

Concolor fir, a lighter blue-green tree, is noted for it’s longevity.

“We have (concolor fir) trees up now that will be good through February,” Clouse said.

Customers have varying needs for the cornerstone of their Christmas decor.

“Some want perfect symmetry. Others want a tree that has holes in it to place a teddy bear on Christmas morning,” Clouse said.

Before choosing a tree, the Starlings always ask customers to make sure they measure the width and height of the tree.

“People come out of here with the most beautiful tree and then they have to cut it down to get it in the house,” Peggy Starling said.

The Starlings remind customers to make sure the trunk of the tree is straight so it fits in the stand.

Also, be sure to keep the tree away from a heat source and give it plenty of water.

To test the freshness of a tree, bend a limb and watch for any green needles that fall. If green needles fall, the tree is less fresh.

Peggy Starling said she will miss tree farming, but she has several pictures from customers who send her photos of their trees after they have been decorated.

“Sometime I just look at those pictures and think, `Wow, they got those trees here,”’ she said.