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Calaveras County is famous for its big trees, making it a popular destination for locals and visitors to go Christmas tree shopping. But rising temperatures, drought, and wildfires have taken their toll on local tree farms from West Point to Murphys, leaving only one open for business this holiday season.
Anderson Tree Farm, located in Murphys, continues to operate despite the weather conditions. The Enterprise visited the farm and spoke with owner Charlie Anderson and his daughter Ana. Charlie explained that they planted their first trees in 1992 during cooler El Niño years. He added that, up until recently, the trees did not require irrigation and would rely solely on rainfall.
Christmas tree farmer Charlie Anderson gives a family and their tree a ride back to their vehicle.
Danny Benson/Calaveras Enterprise
“Fifteen to 20 years ago, we would plant 100 trees and maybe 75 of them would survive to the next year. These days, we're planting 100 of them, and maybe 10 of them are making it. So it's definitely become a lot harder to get new trees started here,” said Ana.
Ana says her father considered closing down the farm due to the challenges of maintaining the trees in such dry weather, but ultimately decided not to.
Both Charlie and Ana explained the process of maintaining the trees is cutting them down to the base but leaving branches that will eventually grow into new trees. This process is also used at Cal-Sierra Tree Farm in West Point, which has unfortunately been closed for the second season in a row.
Glen and Yolanda Buller own Cal-Sierra Tree Farm, which has been open since 1969.
“The issue is that the trees are so dry [that] if you cut a tree off, the host tree will probably not make it,” said Glen. “We only cut above the first or second whorl [a group of branches surrounding a section of the tree] so that a tree will grow back in less time than the original tree.”
A small pine tree waits to grow into a future Christmas tree at Anderson Tree Farm in Murphys.
Danny Benson/Calaveras Enterprise
Glen said that because the trees are in a dry and unhealthy state, they cannot produce pitch, a form of sap that is used to fight off pests.
“I'm gonna say that drought years have probably cost us 35% of our trees. [There is] nothing you can do. We still don't have enough water and capabilities to water thousands of trees. And the drought years have just been very, very tough on all tree farms,” said Glen.
Glen stated that it is always a battle to maintain the trees, even under ideal conditions, but the severe lack of rain has made it much harder. Especially for white fir and silvertip fir trees, which normally grow up to 1 foot per year but are now only growing 2 to 3 inches, according to Glen.
Both Anderson Tree Farm and Cal-Sierra say their respective tree farms bring in visitors from as far away as Southern California. Charlie said that the COVID-19 lockdown actually helped his farm, as it gave the trees time to catch up.
Neither farm has felt like the fake tree market has had a major impact on their respective businesses. The real problem, they say, is much bigger than that.
“We have had three generations of customers up here, and it's just really tough because this is a very happy time of the year for us. And our customers come up and enjoy themselves tremendously. They would have fires and picnics, and they would make a day of it. It's just tough to have to tell people that the trees are just too dry,” said Glen.
Many of the precut trees at Anderson Tree Farm are brought in from colder climates such as Oregon.
Danny Benson/Calaveras Enterprise
On the future of Cal-Sierra, Glen said, “I planted 600 to 700 trees five years ago, and they're coming along real well. But the last two years, I had to water them all the way past November. So we look forward to planting more trees and all of that, but until we get a normal weather pattern, we just can't do it.”
Back at Anderson Tree Farm, Ana said, “Despite the challenges that we've had, we also—to maintain sustainability since we can't grow quite as trees here—bring in supplemental trees from Oregon. It's a little wetter, a little cooler, [in Oregon] so they can grow just a different variety of trees around there. So that's been helpful for us in our business as well.”
Even through these challenging times, Charlie said before leaving to take a family on a tractor ride through the farm, “If you’re going to do this, you have to do it for the fun of it.”
Alto Tree Farm in West Point did not respond to the Enterprise's request for an interview, however Google states that they are temporarily closed.
Danny is a writer and a Calaveras County native. He studied creative writing and marketing at San Francisco State University and has previously done work as an automotive journalist. He is happy to be back and writing about the local community.
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