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At Christmas tree lots, time to get to work

Chris Magart, the lot manager at Santa's Tree Farm at the intersection of University and Sprague in Spokane Valley, inspects some of the smaller trees on the lot Sunday. (Joe Barrentine / The Spokesman-Review)
By Peter Barnes peterb@spokesman.com
Chris Magart, the lot manager at Santa's Tree Farm at the intersection of University and Sprague in Spokane Valley, inspects some of the smaller trees on the lot Sunday. (Joe Barrentine / The Spokesman-Review)

With thousands of shoppers whizzing by over the busy weekend, roadside Christmas-tree stands are opening for another season.

“It’s remained quite steady, almost identical,” Bill Frick said of tree sales in recent years as he opened Santa’s Tree Farm on Friday at University and Sprague.

While some holiday spending has gravitated to chain stores, the tree stands in parking lots remain as traditional as their product.

The owners of Frick’s stand and five others in Spokane and North Idaho have been selling trees for about 30 years, Frick said. Originally they wanted a way to keep their crews at their construction-related business working in the off-season.

In north Spokane, Mary Haden and her family have sold trees from the same spot off Division for 13 years.

A nursery wholesaler in Chewelah the rest of the year, Haden calls an RV on the lot home for a month or so while families come in to pick their trees from among 700 she expects to sell.

“You’re helping the economy, especially locally” buying a tree, she said.

Tree sellers at several area lots said they get their trees from Oregon and Washington.

In years past, Oregon has led the nation in Christmas tree production with 68,000 acres devoted to the trees, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture study. Michigan was a close second, followed by Wisconsin.

Washington ranked eighth with about 15,000 acres.

Lindsey Wynia was browsing last week at a Spokane Boys lot near the Valley Mall. “I just like to have space in between the branches,” Wynia said.

Noble firs are known for being able to hold more decorations, Frick said. Grand firs are more bushy and Douglas firs fall in between.

Tree sales usually start out slow after Thanksgiving, then pick up during the first couple weeks in December and slow down again as Christmas approaches.

“It follows that same pattern every year,” said Margie Cooke, who owns Forever Green Tree Farm south of St. Maries with her husband, Larry.

The Cookes put up their family tree Friday, saying the secret to keeping it fresh is keeping plenty of water in a tree base large enough to allow it to circulate.