Christmas tree sales largely strong this year in Beaufort County

With Christmas right around the corner, Beaufort County tree farms and roadside merchants are getting cleared out.

In fact, one Christmas tree farm has already closed for the season.

"We basically sold out of all the Fraser firs," said Jerry Youngblood, owner of A&A Christmas Tree Farm in Okatie, which closed Sunday. "We sold many of our other trees, too, but had to make sure we have enough for next year."

Those other trees are ones Youngblood grows on his farm: Leyland cypress, white pines and Murray cypress trees. It takes about seven to eight years to grow the trees.

He purchased about 530 Fraser firs from North Carolina.

Youngblood, who has grown and sold Christmas trees in the area since 1976, said growth in population and decreased competition in the area has contributed to a higher volume of traffic at his farm.

Milledge Morris, who owners The Family Tree Christmas Tree Farm on Lady's Island, agreed. When he started his farm 33 years ago, there were a lot more sellers in the local choose-and-cut business.

"There were at least eight Christmas tree farms at one point in Beaufort County," Morris said.

But, he said, it's tough to keep a small farm such as his profitable -- especially during the economic downturn a few years ago.

"You can't compete with some of the discount (retailers)," Morris said. "Economics aren't on your side."

Both Morris' and Youngblood's farms have rebounded, though, and reported seeing a lot of new customers at their farms this year. Morris said he will likely close Dec. 20, a few days earlier than his typical closing date of Dec. 23.

"I'm getting back to where I was six years ago, before the recession," Morris said.

Sales, too, have been earlier than typical. Part of that has to do with the date Thanksgiving falls on.

"If Thanksgiving is late in the month, people come out earlier," Youngblood said. Both his farm and Morris' farm opened the day after Thanksgiving.

LAST-MINUTE BUYERS

Local merchants who sell Fraser firs at roadside lots are seeing mixed results so far this year.

Bo Guined, who has operated a Poppell's Seasonal lot on Hilton Head Island for the past three years, said there has been a noticeable dip in business.

"Sales were really strong last year," he said, estimating they totaled about $30,000. So far, he said, profits have been about $5,000 less this season.

Georgia-based Poppell Farms supplies North Carolina Fraser firs to several lots throughout the Southeast, including the one on Hilton Head and another in Bluffton.

Guined said part of what could be contributing to lighter traffic is unseasonably warm temparatures that many areas on the East Coast, including the Lowcountry, are experiencing this fall.

"It feels like springtime," Guined said. "It (should) be 40 degrees to buy a Christmas tree."

He hopes to see a surge in last-minute shoppers at the lot this weekend, when he plans to reduce the price of his Fraser firs by at least 20 percent.

The unusually warm temperatures haven't affected the quality of trees, although Guined said he has had to water them more frequently.

Kevin Strock, who operates the Poppell's Seasonal lot in Bluffton with his wife, Sara, echoed that sentiment.

"The main thing is to check them daily," Strock said. He estimated he has sold about 400 trees so far this season, and said he expected last-minute shoppers to take advantage of discounts and a shipment of 60 trees expected this week from already-closed lots in Georgia.

Both Christmas tree farm owners and roadside lot managers say that many local residents are still buying real Christmas trees instead of artificial ones.

"People are still looking for that experience," Morris said. "It's (about) walking around out in the country looking for a tree. It's an event."

Follow reporter Ashley Fahey on Twitter at twitter.com/IPBG_Ashley.

Related content:

• Christmas tree sales on the rise in Beaufort County, merchants say, December 1, 2014
• As temperatures fall, Christmas tree competition heats up, November 21, 2011

This story was originally published December 15, 2015 at 4:40 PM with the headline "Christmas tree sales largely strong this year in Beaufort County."