McHenry Co. Christmas Tree Farms Face Fir Tree Shortage

MCHENRY COUNTY, IL — Many McHenry County Christmas tree farms are planning on having abbreviated seasons this year due to shortage of supply.

Last week, the owners of a popular Chicago area tree farm, Richardson Farm in Spring Grove, announced they'd stop selling trees in early December.

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"We have gone through our fields to count the numbers of trees we have available for harvest and we just do not have enough to be open until Christmas Eve," according to the Richardson Farm Facebook post. The business, at 9407 Richardson Road in Spring Grove, will plan to be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Nov. 26 through Dec. 5.

Tough growing conditions in recent years as well as estimates Richardson's made eight years ago on how many trees they could sell are some of the reasons behind their shortage.

When planting trees, farmers need to decide a decade earlier what type of tree a consumer may want to buy down the road, according to the Chicago Tribune. Many did not expect Fraser and Canaan Fir trees to grow in popularity.

“Well, consumer preferences have gone away from the Scotch and white pines — the traditional Christmas trees we planted 20 years ago, 30 years ago and have gone more toward the Fraser fir/Canaan fir preferences. So, what we’re finding is we don’t have enough of those types of trees growing — and that’s what people want,” George Richardson, co-owner of Richardson Farm, told the Chicago Tribune.

The farm does have a good selection of White Pine, Concolor Fir, Douglas Fir and Norway Spruce available, according to Richardson's Facebook page. And more trees should be available in upcoming holiday seasons.

The farm planted extra trees — 10,000 to 13,000 seedlings each year for the past five years — but it takes six to eight years of care to grow a quality Christmas tree.

"Our supply will be much better in the near future, but this year most tree growers will have a limited selection," according to the Richardson's Farm Facebook post.

Ben's Christmas Tree Farm in Harvard is among the growers also facing a shortage of fir trees this holiday season.

The tree farm dealt with "unprecedented demand" last year, and fir trees quickly flew off their lot. The business stopped selling fir trees on Dec. 6 and has a limited supply again this year "due to a long period of drought," according to a Nov. 21 update on the Ben's Christmas Tree Farm website.

Ben's Christmas Tree Farm will be open this weekend and next weekend and that's it for this year.

Meanwhile, at least one area tree farm has an over-abundance of trees this year after being closed last year due to COVID. Pioneer Tree Farm, a cut-your-own-tree farm in McHenry, opened on Thanksgiving and plans to remain open through Dec. 19.

"We have an excellent selection of pines, spruces, cedar, and firs — and they are even larger now because we were closed last year," according to information posted on the Pioneer Tree Farm website.

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