From The Trussville Tribune staff reports
JEFFERSON COUNTY – A countrywide scarcity of Christmas trees is impacting tree lots in central Alabama, according to WIAT.
WIAT spoke with Josh Stewart, manager of Poppy’s Christmas Trees in Jefferson County, who described this year’s dearth of supply.
“We were done by Dec. 2,” Stewart said. “We’ve never been that quick. And I’m very happy with it, but also very sad because I feel like that I could have sold more. And I hate that I can’t get more trees for people who need them.”
WIAT is also reporting that the shortage can be traced back to the start of the Great Recession. This year’s crop of preferred sizes would have been planted in 2008; due to the financial difficulties and uncertainties of that period, fewer trees were planted.