A flowering market for Yule trees

Christmas trees likely will cost a little more this year, and growers such as John Tillman say it's about time. Six years of decreased demand and low prices put many growers out of business. Those who withstood the downturn are relieved they survived.

"I'm awful proud to still be in the Christmas tree business," said Tillman, who ships up to 20,000 trees each fall from nine fields near Olympia, Wash. "We lost a lot of farmers who didn't make it through."

Prices vary according to the variety of tree, but growers this year will get about $20 per tree, $2 more than the last several years, according to Bryan Ostlund, executive director of the Pacific Northwest Tree Association. Prices will likely rise as the holidays near and supply decreases.

Consumers looking to deck their home could pay a little more than last year, but costs vary widely depending on factors such as transportation, tree-lot rental space, and big-box retailers' demand that prices remain stable. For example, a six-foot Douglas fir in Oregon, which grows about one-third of the nation's Christmas trees, could sell for $25 while a similar tree hauled to Southern California might go for $80.

Small tree-farm owners who sell straight to customers are less affected by the factors increasing prices nationally.

Competition from artificial-tree manufacturers and other factors have led to a drop in trees harvested, from 20.8 million in 2002 to 17.3 million in 2012, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The National Christmas Tree Association has encouraged growers to offer more options that meet the needs of younger people who live in urban areas and lack space for a towering tree, says executive director Rick Dungey. More growers are realizing that if they offer different looks - such as a tree that could fit on a coffee table or one thin enough to squeeze into a narrow room - people will buy them, Dungey said.