Real vs. fake: Christmas trees could be in short supply this season

Barrie, Ont. -

Bradford Greenhouses Garden Gallery is busy prepping for the holiday season, but one thing that's missing is their usual supply of fake trees.

"With the global shipping crisis, we've been backlogged on a couple of major items, one being our artificial Christmas trees," said live goods supervisor Adam Davies.

While Davies says shipments could arrive as early as Friday, the shortages have holiday shoppers heading through the doors earlier than usual.

"We were selling artificial Christmas trees weeks ago," said Davies. "People are buying a product that usually doesn't move until the middle of November."

With shipping delays causing shortages of fake trees, prepare for a competition similar to last year if you're thinking of decking the halls with the real deal.

The Canadian Christmas Trees Association says the number of trees has dwindled due to previous weather events like heatwaves and frost, along with high demand.

"No one would have anticipated such a boom and demand like we're seeing. I've been fielding calls since January from growers in the States and all over the world looking for trees. Not only growers but retailers," said executive director of the Canadian Christmas Trees Association, Shirley Brennan.

Brennan said that since 2015, the industry has exploded, increasing from $53 million to $100 million in Canada.

"Because it takes so long to grow a Christmas tree, we can't just plant trees in the spring for the following year," Brennan said. "No one would have anticipated such a boom and demand that we are seeing."

At Drysdale's Tree Farm, owner Doug Drysdale said the demand is already outweighing supply, and it's impacting prices.

"Last year [prices] were up fairly significantly, I don't think they will go quite as high, but they will definitely be higher this year," he noted.

While Drysdale doesn't anticipate running out of trees this year, he said the shortage could spill over into the next few years.

"It takes eight to 10 years to grow a tree and right now, last year was the first year of a cycle that it's going to have to work through," Drysdale said.