Live Christmas Trees Selling at Brisk Pace
By Christina Knauss
On a cold night along U.S. 501, Eddie Taylor waits alongside rows of Frasier fir trees for customers he can help to find the perfect piece of Christmas spirit for their home.
Taylor, a resident of Crumpler, a small town in the North Carolina mountains, is a Christmas tree salesman. Along with coworker Bobby Coates, he runs a tree stand at Carolina Forest near the flea market. The stand is open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week.
The two men sell trees from Goodman Tree Farms in Western North Carolina. They work for Grand Strand residents who run this stand and one in Murrells Inlet, both featuring Goodman trees.
Taylor has been around trees his entire life. His father ran the forest service in Ashe County, N.C., and then got into selling Christmas trees, and his son followed in his footsteps.
He said Christmas tree sales, like everything else, have been affected by the unstable economy. More customers are looking for bargains and waiting a little longer to pick a tree. Some customers, he said, have to adjust to not buying large trees that fit the big houses they were able to afford before the "Great Recession" hit.
"I've had customers who have had to move from massive houses in subdivisions into mobile homes," he said. "Some of the women have been upset they're having to get smaller trees."
The downturn hasn't stopped people from wanting live trees, however. Taylor has been in the Myrtle Beach area since Thanksgiving weekend, and the stand is now on its third shipment of 100 trees, which arrived by tractor-trailer on Dec. 10.
Frasier firs grown in North Carolina are the most popular Christmas trees in this area, largely because of their shape, longevity and more delicate needles. Taylor's stand also carried a smaller selection of white pines, which used to be more popular. On this night, only one white pine was left, its darker color and fuller, slightly scruffier appearance standing out among the slim branches of the firs.
Tree prices range from around $10 for the smallest trees, which are less than 5 feet, to $125 for large trees that can be 13 or 14 feet high. Taylor said they have been working with bargain-hunting customers to give them prices they can afford. As it gets closer to Christmas, he said, more bargain hunters will be out.
Weekends are the busiest time for Christmas tree stands. On a recent Sunday, Taylor said he sold 25 trees, as well as wreath, garland and Christmas tree stands. Families with children and couples are the biggest customers, he said.
This is the first season of selling live Christmas trees for Bobby Coates, 19, of Aynor. On this night, Coates is joined at work by his one-year-old Chihuahua, Tinkerbell, who greets customers with joy but eventually has to go spend time in a heated car because of the cold.
Coates, who wears a Santa hat done in olive came, says the job is perfect for him "because I get to be outside."
"I'm an outdoorsman - I hunt, fish and like to live off the land," said Coates, who would eventually like to join the Army.
Coates' work includes unloading and moving trees, helping to prepare them for customers and tie them to the tops of trucks, SUVs and minivans. Delivery is available for people with cars too small to carry a Christmas tree, or who aren't able to load it and unload it themselves.
"I've delivered over 20 trees in three weeks," Coates said. "It doesn't bother me. It's all part of Christmas, and Christmas is my favorite time of the year."
Once a customer selects a tree, Taylor and Coates will put a fresh cut on the bottom of the trunk. The trees each sit in a pot of water, and customers are told to keep the tree well watered once they get it home.
"If a fresh cut isn't on the tree, rosin will gum back up on the bottom and it won't drink water like it's supposed to," Taylor said.
Keeping trees fresh is a challenge, he said, but a well-watered tree can last for months. He said he's talked to many customers who have kept one of the stand's trees up and alive until January and sometimes-even February. There are products available that claim to make trees last longer, but water is the key, he said.
Taylor pauses in his description of proper Christmas tree care when Cheryl and Tommy Ault, who moved to Myrtle Beach from New Jersey a year ago, show up out of the darkness. They select a medium-size Frasier fir, which Coates ties to the top of their SUV.
"This is my first time getting a real tree," Cheryl Ault said. "My husband has always wanted one, and I kept saying no. We've been married 10 years, so I decided to go ahead and let him get one."
After the Aults drive off, Taylor and Coates step back under the tent that shelters the Frasier firs.
The tree stand will be open at least until the weekend before Christmas, Taylor said.
"The best part about this job is seeing the smile on people's faces when they come here," he said. "The kids' smiles are the best, but sometimes the parents are even more excited than the kids."
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