Christmas tree growers say crop OK

NEENAH - A note of concern if you don't have your Christmas tree yet. The hot, dry summer is now hurting the seasonal favorite.   

Christmas tree growers say they are seeing an impact. But they say, you may not see it, just yet.

"Run your hand across the branch, there shouldn't be any needles in your hand," said Sue Schroeder of Schroeder's Forevergreens in Neenah.

Good advice for picking out a fresh Christmas tree this year. Just months after a summer drought reeked havoc on tree growers across the state.

But you might not notice it, at least this year.

"The trees are pretty resilient as are the growers so I would suspect you won't notice much difference," said Schroeder.

Schroeder says the trees hurt the most were the ones planted this year, just as the drought hit.

"Eight to ten years down the road there is a possibility there could be a slight shortage."

And that could mean an impact, while beyond Wisconsin. A FOX 11 Fact Check shows Wisconsin ranks fifth in the nation in Christmas tree production with about 950,000 trees harvested each year. But officials with the National Christmas Tree Association caution, it's too early to tell how much difference that might make.

"A lot can happen in those number of years, some years trees can grow a lot, some years they grow not so much, so there is no way to tie any planting year to any harvest year," said National Christmas Tree Association public relations manager Rick Dungey.

"Yes we lost trees. Did we lose everything we planted? No. Did we plant more than we harvested? Yes, quite a few," said Schroeder.

So while it's anyone's guess whether or not we have a white Christmas, at least you can be sure your tree will still be green on Christmas morning.