Hearne Christmas tree farm closed for the season, others remain open
HEARNE, Texas (KBTX) – Crossed Creek Christmas Tree Farm is closed for the 2023 Christmas season.
The tree farm owners announced they would not be open for the season this year as a result of the summer heat.
Stan Reed, Executive Secretary of the Texas Christmas Tree Growers Association, says the summer heat affects the growth of the trees.
“The extreme heat doesn’t help. We had days where it was 108 but felt like it was 120, and being outside as humans, we don’t like it, let alone trees,” said Reed.
Reed says the heat either stunts the growth of the trees or burns them in the field, which affects the farm’s production.
“If they don’t have as big of crop as they were expecting, they might sell out faster,” said Reed. “If you’re going to buy a Christmas tree, buy it early. You don’t want to wait until a week before Christmas. You might not get a good tree.”
Crossed Creek Christmas Tree Farm suggests Christmas tree buyers should shop at other farms such as Tanglewood Christmas Trees, Tim’s Trees, and Kelumac Christmas Tree Farm.
Jan Peery, Owner of Tanglewood Christmas Tree Farms, says they also struggled with the drought this year but will still open the Friday after Thanksgiving.
“We have been preparing all year long and have been watering trees all summer long,” said Peery.
Peery said they watered their trees 12 hours a day, seven days a week during the summer. Despite watering them, the heat still took a toll on her trees. She said the farm lost 80% of its baby trees and 30% of its big trees.
“No matter how much we were able to water and irrigate, the heat of the day would just evaporate it during the day,” said Peery.
Despite the loss, Peery still has an abundance of trees she says she is eager to sell. She is hoping to sell 300 trees this season and encourages the community to support all the tree farm owners in the area.
“Support your local farmers,” Peery said. “We are farmers, and we have several tree farms in the area and we would love to see you.”
