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By Deborah Fitts
Times-Democrat Staff Writer
You wouldn’t buy a wilting lettuce, would you?
Thats the simple premise that Fauquier’s pick-your-own Christmas tree growers hope their prospective customers realize this time of year: You just can’t beat freshness.
The thousands of families who flock to local farms in the weeks before Christmas are believers already. They know their fresh-cut tree will keep its needles far longer than one propped up under a string of lights in a roadside stand. Chances are that one was cut weeks ago and has been in cold storage. It will begin shedding around New Year’s, while your fresh-cut one will keep its needles well into January.
For the pick-your-own enthusiast, Fauquier County publishes an annual listing and map to get you where you want to go — and enable you to choose from among a variety of extras, such as the farms that offer hayrides, wreaths, crafts, jams! dried flowers, hot cider and more.
For local Christmas tree farmers, everything’s been growing but the price. Prices have held stable for several years averaging $25 for a choose-and-cut tree.
That doesn’t mean all trees are $25. Some firs will bring $40 to $60, while the more common white and Scotch pines are at the lower end of the scale.
Jim Clarke, president of the Loudoun Valley Christmas Tree Growers Association, says the number of farmers growing trees, and the number of trees sold, has risen steadily every year statewide. Christmas tree farming is especially popular here, with the county s strong farming heritage, and landowners looking for alternative crops to replace the fading demand for traditional beef and grains.
Here’s where to find your perfect
Christmas tree:
92.9%