Where To Cut Or Buy A Christmas Tree Around Basking Ridge

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — It’s still early, but if you’re planning to put up a live Christmas tree this year, it’s a good idea to scope out what will be available from Basking Ridge area tree growers.

Choose-and-cut:

• Shadow Hill Farm, 213 Grandview Rd, Skillman, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 1, 2, 8, 9, 15, 16
• Cherryville Farm, 352 Quakertown Road, Pittstown
• Evergreen Valley Christmas Tree Farm LLC, 77 Jackson Valley Road, Washington
• Wyckoff’s Christmas Tree Farm, LLC, 246 County Road 519, Belvidere
• Perfect Christmas Tree Farm, 999 US Highway 22, Phillipsburg

Seasonal pre-cut lot:

• Winter Market, Bishop Janes United Methodist Church, 22 S. Finley Ave, Basking Ridge
• Bradley Gardens Volunteer Fire Company, 24 Old York Road, Bridgewater
• Carriage Farm, 2 Clerico Lane, Hillsborough

Farms:

• Otterbein Farm, 310 Skillman’s Lane, Somerset
• Wolgast Tree Farm and Apiary, 176 Bennetts Lane, Somerset

Last year, the median price for trees purchased directly from a grower was about $93, according to PickYourOwnChristmasTree.org. About 26 million live trees were sold last year, compared to 27.4 million in 2018.

A survey by the American Christmas Tree Association, an industry trade group, shows that of the 94 percent of Americans who plan to put up a Christmas tree this year, 23 percent will display a live tree.

Last year, live tree prices increased about 10 percent, largely due to inflation and drought, according to industry experts.

Years of extreme weather — drought conditions in some parts of the country and excess moisture in others — are expected to translate to slightly higher 2023 Christmas tree prices, according to a report from Country Folks Grower, a business-to-business publication serving fresh market and ornamental crops.

“A lot can happen in a half dozen years that can change the outlook for a Christmas tree crop from one season to the next,” the report said. “Farmers will be facing challenges in the 2023 Christmas tree season brought about by developments over the past several years.”

At any given moment, about 350 million Christmas trees are growing on tree farms across the country.

It typically takes a tree between six and eight years to grow to the desirable height for decorating. Large trees — those 7 feet and taller — may be in short supply because sales of smaller trees have been strong in recent years, the report said. Also, people may need to settle for a different species than they’re accustomed to buying.