MUNCY, Pa. — Hot temperatures with little or no rain in the summertime is not ideal for those running a Christmas tree farm. This summer's weather has not been great for growing trees at Brown's Tree Farm in Muncy.
"We had minimal growth, just because the trees didn't have enough water," said Heather Hinshaw.
Summertime is one of the most important times of the year for a tree's development.
"We look generally in the summer to get at least a foot of growth so when we count our trees in the spring, we know if they are 5 to 6 feet, we can sell them as a 6 to 7-foot tree at the end of the season."
Brown's Tree Farm says sales are actually increasing in the summer because of a national Christmas tree shortage.
"Back during the recession, a lot of people weren't planting because the Christmas tree market plummeted. People didn't know if it was worth in investing all of what they made that year into planting new trees, so they slowed down on planting, and ten years later, it has caught up," Hinshaw said.
Workers here started selling trees for this Christmas at the beginning of the year.
"We actually had a lot of customers that came back right at the end of the Christmas season. They were calling in January and February and putting down their deposits for trees for this year, knowing that this shortage was occurring," Hinshaw added.
Folks at the tree farm tell Newswatch 16 that they hope they can get a few more rainy days during the end of the summer to help add a few inches to their trees.