Christmas tree growers were bracing themselves last week for the beginning of a hectic holiday season, given that there are just four weekends between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year instead of five.

"We've been cutting [pre-tagged trees] all week," said Jackie Bowser, co-owner with her husband, Lewis, of Bowser's Christmas Tree Farm, 551 Stauffer Road, Lititz. "We've never cut this many before Thanksgiving."

With four days of snow flurries earlier this month, people have been saying, "This might be one of those winters," Bowser said, and they have seemed anxious to get their trees early in case the weather turns bad.

"Then we have the desperation guys who can't go hunting until the wife gets her tree," she added. The deer season for hunters using rifles and shotguns begins Monday.

Still, Bowser and several other Lancaster County tree farmers said they weren't expecting this weekend to be the busiest of the season. They think next weekend will be the peak.

"My husband was saying, 'I think it's going to be two big weekends,' " said Maryanne Schwartz, who owns Frog Hollow Evergreens, 2839 Hossler Road, Manheim, with her husband, Bob.

Years ago, the second weekend of December was the busiest, said Bowser, who's been selling Christmas trees for nearly 20 years. Over the years, that's changed as people have discovered how long a fresh-cut tree will last in a water-filled stand.

"I generally leave my tree up until March," Bowser said.

People's preference in trees has also changed.

Tom Matesevac, of Matesevac Tree Farms, 1241 Campus Road, Elizabethtown, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, said years ago white pine was the predominant Christmas tree. That shifted to Douglas fir in the 1970s, he said, and to Fraser fir in the 1990s.

Fraser fir, which is native to the mountains of North Carolina and Virginia, is difficult to grow in this area, and the tree farmers who have them for sale here usually buy them from other growers farther north in Pennsylvania.

Matesevac said he is able to grow Fraser firs on several of the 25 acres he has in trees. "You need a microniche," he said. "It's a struggle to grow."

He also sells Douglas fir, which is still a popular tree, and Canaan fir, a native of West Virginia that resembles Fraser fir but is easier to grow.

Another Christmas tree that many growers plant here is blue spruce, which is more prickly than firs but with stiffer branches, ideal for holding heavy ornaments, Bowser said.

Many people are also intrigued by Concolor fir, which has long needles and smells like oranges, Bowser and Schwartz said.

"It used to be that people would just be happy with about any kind of Christmas tree," said Don Claussen, owner of Honeysuckle Hill Farm, 2060 Millersville Road.

Of course, some people are still like that. "Some customers take the first tree that's green and has a pointy top," he said.

But many have become more particular, to the extent that Claussen has customers who make as many as four visits before they go home with a tree — one to select a likely candidate, a second to get the spouse's approval, a third for the children's approval when they return home from college, and a fourth to cut the tree with the whole family gathered recording the event on video.

For some people, Claussen said, "The tree is the centerpiece of Christmas. It has to be perfect. It's a big deal."

Claussen, who calls himself a tree-hugger at heart who likes all trees, takes a more organic approach to tree aesthetics, one that embraces imperfection.

"I still shear by hand," he said. "If you do it by hand, you can give a much more natural look to the tree."

He also precuts many of his seconds (which he calls Charlie Brown trees) and sticks them in water-filled stands to sell at a discount.

"I treat my seconds better than a lot of tree lots treat their best trees," he said.

Claussen said he is also not as quick as other tree farmers to cut his trees when they reach a certain height, and a lot of churches and people with big houses come to him for the taller trees.

Making the cut
One thing customers should consider when picking a tree farm is whether they want to cut the tree themselves or not.

Bowser and Matesevac don't allow customers to cut their own trees. Schwartz and Claussen do.

When the farm cuts the trees, it makes it easier to manage the pre-tagging system to ensure that customers end up with the tree they chose early in the season. It also cuts down on the farm's liability insurance.

For some customers, however, cutting the tree is part of the holiday ritual.

"Most people like the adventure of cutting their own," Schwartz said.

Claussen said he does help by cutting the big trees with a chain saw, but he has one family that insists every year on hand-cutting its 13-foot tree, each family member taking a turn with the bow saw.

Different tree farms also offer different specialties.

Schwartz's Frog Hollow farm, for instance, has a year-round business of supplying trees for landscaping and has Christmas trees for sale with bundled roots intact for later replanting.

Many of the tree farms also offer wreaths, refreshments and gift shops.

And this year, Matesevac Tree Farms will be selling its own 60th anniversary model railroad car loaded with miniature trees and gifts in conjunction with the Train Guys club, with proceeds from sales going to the Elizabethtown Public Library.

Picking a farm
Several tree farms are listed in the Yellow Pages. Many more can be found online by searching for Christmas tree Lancaster.

One Web site — www.christmastreemap.com/farm/PA.html — shows more than a dozen tree farms in the county, enough to make it easy to find a nearby farm, but by no means a complete listing.

A few farms, such as Schwartz's (www.froghollowevergreens.com), have their own Web sites with a listing of tree varieties, prices, hours and related products.

Most do not, but have phone listings for information. Just don't call too late at night. Many of these farmers are early to bed and early to rise.

Most farms are open from 9 or 10 in the morning until dark, seven days a week from the day after Thanksgiving until the weekend before Christmas. Some still cater to customers right up through Christmas Eve.

Prices vary somewhat, depending on size and variety.

"I generally like to say I have a tree to fit everyone's pocketbook," Matesevac said.

Bowser said her trees are $6 a foot, except for the Fraser firs, which are $7 a foot.

It's not nearly as much as the $100 some growers get for a 6-foot tree in Philadelphia, she said, but it's still a profitable business because of the low overhead.

It is also, however, a business that demands a farmer's attention year round — planting, fertilizing, spraying, mowing, trimming and then selling.

"There's a lot more to it than letting [the trees] sit out there," Schwartz said.

Then there are the long hours between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

"Sometimes, we're so busy I have to get someone to go for bread and milk," Bowser said.

Offsetting that are the joyful customers.

"I don't think we mind the workload. ... Everyone is usually in a pretty good mood buying trees." Schwartz said.

"It's really fun watching the families. Sometimes, you'll see all the kids have a hand on the tree when they're carrying it in."

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Dennis Larison is editor of the business section and can be reached by telephone at 291-8753 or by e-mail at dlarison@lnpnews.com.