Climate Matters: Climate change puts a strain on local Christmas trees

Christmas trees in Mid-Missouri have been changing with the climate, and Wayne Harmon with Starr Pines has had to change with it.

His Christmas tree farm near Boonville has been in business for over three decades and grows several species of trees. "The pines, they can weather the type of weather we have here in Missouri. The hot, dry weather, if it gets moist, the pines are real hardy." Harmon said, but others are a bit more of a challenge. "The firs, they're used to kinda being up in the mountains and getting good rain and having really good soil. So we're at a lower elevation, hotter, drier weather."

While firs may not be as suited for Missouri's climate, they are popular among consumers. "The customers love the firs. It's become the number one tree in the United States. So we have tried very diligently to provide the firs for our customers." Harmon said.

That means using a lot more water to keep the more sensitive fir trees satisfied. "We've learned over the last 20 some years in order to keep the firs alive you have to baby them, you have to give them water." Harmon explained, and he says this has been a challenge recently.

"With growing this season, this year it was a little of a challenge. It was dry when we planted and our fir trees, we started irrigating within several weeks of planting. And we kept the irrigation running until about the middle of October." Harmon said that is the longest time he's had to run irrigation on the fir trees, except for possibly in 2012 during those drought years.

Despite an expectation of more hot and dry years to come, Harmon is enthusiastic about meeting his customer's demands. "We'll be planting a lot more firs because we anticipate losing a number of them. You have to compensate and plant probably about three trees for every one tree that you're able to harvest."

Future years may be tough on Missouri's Christmas tree businesses. The growing season is lengthening, bringing more bugs and exposing budding plants to late-season cold snaps. Dry spells are getting longer, while the wet days in between are getting extremely wet. This combination strains trees with drought while exposing them to mold and diseases after heavy rain events.

These looming issues still couldn't quell Harmon's Christmas spirit. "They like to cut live rather than get it at a big box store that way. So for that reason, we're putting a lot of energy into providing trees for our customers."