WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 30: A large Christmas tree stands to one side of the North Portico entrance in the Entrance Hall during the first viewing of the 2011 White House Christmas decorations November 30, 2011 in Washington, DC. The theme, "Shine, Give, Share" runs throught the White House with a 400-pound White House Gingerbread House and 37 Christmas trees, including the official 18-foot 6-inch balsam fir tree in the Blue Room that honors Blue Star military families. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
In what could turn out to be good news for the artificial Christmas tree industry, experts are predicting a shortage of real trees this year.The limited inventory is the result of factors that go all the way back to 2008, according to the National Christmas Tree Association. Because the U.S. was in the midst of a recession, farmers planted far fewer trees that year; trees that would have grown and been sold this year. Of the trees that did get planted, thousands that were planted in Oregon and North Carolina fell victim to exceptionally hot, dry summers in 2017 and 2018.”Christmas trees are a cyclical thing where they have to plant every single year,” says Kathy Kogut, executive director of the Connecticut Christmas Tree Growers Association. “So if you plant 1,000, then 10 years later 1,000 will be ready. But if you lose some, then you’re not going to have those ready 10 years later.”