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Already, Lots Of Yule Trees

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By KEITH MORELLI, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 27, 2007

TAMPA - Black Friday faded, Cyber Monday logged off. Can the next demand on the holiday dollar be far behind?

Nope.

Christmas trees are being unloaded into parking lots of schools and churches for fundraising and at grocery and hardware stores for profit. There are bundled spruces and firs, standing ready to shelter presents and offer that fresh pine smell.

At the lot next to Lake Magdalene United Methodist Church on Fletcher Avenue near Dale Mabry Highway, big trees are the order of the day.

Fraser firs are stacked next to Douglas firs, next to noble firs. The tallest, pushing 15 feet, reaches toward the center of the tent but the cost-coded red ribbon is at eye level: $225. Trees in this tent look majestic, and they are priced that way, too.

Majestic is what some people want, said Lance McCullers, whose father, Lanny, began the L&M tree business some 50 years ago. The company has four locations at high schools and churches throughout the county.

Though trees are steep in price, there isn't a problem selling them, McCullers said. Mostly, the same people come back year after year.

"Over the past six or seven years, we've seen a lot of people going for the bigger trees," he said. "You build a reputation for big trees. It takes a few years, but if you give quality, you get repeat customers."

Prices generally haven't gone up much this year, he said, maybe $5 a tree.

His trees come from Oregon and North Carolina. They seem heartier than the Michigan and Wisconsin varieties, McCullers said. He opens up earlier each year, it seems, because people want trees earlier. "Some want trees up for Thanksgiving."

At Home Depot on Dale Mabry Highway near Interstate 275, Lloyd Solomon, the designated "Christmas tree captain," doesn't have much to do early on a Monday morning. It's the calm after the weekend storm.

"We have seven Douglas firs left out of 200," Solomon said. He was waiting for another truckload of nearly 400. The Fraser firs at his stand range from $25 for a 5- to 7-footer to $60 for a 9-footer.

This lot has been selling trees for a whole week already, since before Black Friday, said assistant store manager Mike King. The batch they were waiting on Monday was cut Saturday in Oregon or North Carolina, King said.

Higher gas prices notwithstanding, King said costs are stable: "There is no price hike over last year."

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