For one thing, a Christmas tree farm will generate most of your income in a short time, making it more of a seasonal business. After factoring in your expenses, they may not be enough income to live on all year round. For those who enjoy being outside and working with plants, growing trees offers a profitable side activity or a full-time business. The growing demand for ornamental and functional trees, together with the need for sustainable practices, has made tree cultivation more popular.
Trees are produced year-round and, unlike flowers or vegetables, their value increases as they grow, ensuring continued profit potential. Of all things, why trees? Many experts say that trees are one of the safest investments you can make with your land. One of the main pressures a Christmas tree farm faces is not to oversell at any individual season, so they have enough trees to sell next year. If you plan to grow only a small number of trees or want to sell only a few trees each year, you may be able to set up a farm on a relatively small plot of land.
Landscapers and homeowners often want larger, more mature trees because they will provide “immediate shade” in a year or two, and they are willing to pay much more for those trees. Compared to other plants, such as shrubs or vegetables, trees are significantly more resilient and durable, and tree cultivation often has less volatility. Manix got into the Christmas tree business on a whim, when he and his wife were buying their own tree on a snowy day and discovered that their lives were turned upside down due to an uncomfortable fit of Christmas spirit. Walt McPhail and his wife Barbara were named the best national tree producers of the year by the American Tree Farm System.
These trees also tend to be resistant to diseases and grow much faster than trees that grow in less ideal conditions. On the other hand, if you have a large number of properties, you can start planting evergreens in rows to eventually sell them as Christmas trees. It takes three to ten years for fruit and nut trees to produce fruit, while for timber trees it takes ten to fifty years. A tree nursery essentially consists of growing young trees until they reach a certain age or size that allows them to be sold or transplanted. You may have great success growing trees for profit if you have the funds to start, the determination to plan, and the patience to wait for the trees to develop.
The most important decision you must make about growing trees for profit is the type of trees you want to grow. This is one of the reasons why there is a big difference between the number of farms that are “Christmas tree farms” and those that grow Christmas trees, in addition to another more important business. Before investing in a Christmas tree farm, make sure you can afford the cost of maintaining it and that you have time to allow your trees to grow to their full potential. Some specialist knowledge is needed to grow healthy trees and it can be difficult to make a profit if you are growing a large number of trees.