| Ace Gunner |
08-08-2012 07:27 PM |
Drought Killing Christmas Trees
Drought Killing Christmas Trees
MASON, Mich. — A mid-Michigan farm reports the drought is responsible for killing many newly-planted Christmas trees.
Mel Koelling has been growing Christmas trees at Tannenbaum Farms in the Mason area for about 35 years. He tells WILX-TV that older trees typically are more drought-resistant and are doing okay. But he says he's lost about 4,000 of the roughly 10,000 new Christmas trees.
Similar problems have been reported in Wisconsin.
Caledonia Tree Farm owner Russell Kook near Merrimac, Wisc., says most of the 4,500 seedlings he planted this year have died. Kook says other growers he's talked to are experiencing the same losses.
The State Journal says Wisconsin has about 900 Christmas tree farms that produce about 1 million trees a year. The state ranks fifth in production nationally, according to the State Journal.
Wisconsin growers say there should be plenty of trees this season because the older trees have deeper root systems and can survive the drought conditions.
It takes 7 to 10 years to grow most standard-sized Christmas trees. So Koelling says he'll try to make up for losses by planting twice as many next year on his Michigan farm.
Koelling is also keeping an eye on the weather as summer continues. If drought conditions remain he says there could be more Christmas trees killed.
http://www.weather.com/news/drought-...trees-20120808
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