Still Need a Christmas Tree in Louisiana? Here’s What to Expect

For a lot of Louisiana residents, the annual rush to install a freshly chopped tree inside their homes for the holidays has already taken place. Most people, Louisiana included, like to get their Christmas Tree up and decorated on the weekend following Thanksgiving. Black Friday is the day that almost 40% of Americans put up their trees this year.

But for those who have waited, you've probably heard all the doom and gloom talk of limited supplies of fresh-cut Christmas Trees. And even worse horror stories of exorbitantly high prices for those trees you can find. The fears appear to be based on fact. Especially, if you had planned to travel to one of Louisiana's "choose and cut" Christmas Tree farms.

Over the summer months, the extreme heat and extreme drought wreaked havoc on many Christmas Tree growers in the state. There were reports that some farms weren't going to even open this year because of the damage those weather conditions had on the crop. This led to rumors that live Christmas Tree prices would be like a 10-foot tree in a seven-foot house, you know through the roof.

Is There a Live Christmas Tree Shortage in Louisiana?

While your choices to "choose and cut" might be curtailed this year the fact is that Christmas Trees, the fresh ones at least, are not that hard to find. A spokesperson for the Southern Christmas Tree Association said his organization has not seen any price increases for trees grown not only in Louisiana but neighboring states of Mississippi and Alabama.

Based on statistics provided by the Southern Christmas Tree Association a six-foot fresh tree can be purchased for about $80 bucks at most tree lots around the state. Certainly, you might pay more for one that has been trimmed and sculpted but the going rate appears to be on par with what we were paying last year. Fox News reported that compared to last year Christmas Tree prices were only up by about six dollars and supplies of the most popular sizes were still plentiful.

If you do plan on getting a live tree for the holiday season then you should note that if you got your tree today it would still need to last another full month before you take it down. That is if your family follows the tradition that Christmas Trees shouldn't be taken down until January 6th or later.

But, if you want to make that live tree last longer, make sure you follow the simple hack we've highlighted above before putting it in the stand. I did this for my tree, it's been up since Black Friday, and it's still as fresh as the day it was harvested, or at least it appears to be that way.