Christmas shoppers trying to keep a lid on gift-buying and contending with higher holiday meal prices don't have to worry about plunking down more money for Christmas trees this year.
A strong supply has kept prices down the past few years, and that's continuing this holiday season.
"Prices have been stable for the last four years," said Scott Wilson of Wilson Farm in Lexington. "They're very competitive … very good. Going back 10 years, trees were actually more money than they are now. They were anywhere from $10 to $20 more for the same size."
A premium balsam fir can be had for $30 to $40 for 6- and 7-foot trees, respectively, while Fraser firs can run slightly higher, according to Wilson.
"Christmas trees are a true supply-and-demand item," he said. "And lately there's been more of a supply …which has turned the price down a little bit. There's more growers, and the growers that are there are growing more trees."
Massachusetts ranked 21st among U.S. states for the number of Christmas trees harvested at 52,188, according to the 2012 federal agriculture census — the latest report available. The state Department of Agricultural Resources' MassGrown site lists 83 Massachusetts farms where consumers can cut their own.
Lambert's Rainbow Fruit — which has Dorchester and Westwood locations and satellite lots in Hingham, Braintree and Pembroke — bought its trees from Canada up until this year, when it turned to North Carolina.
"Canada is going south," Bill Lambert said, referring to Sherbrooke, Quebec, growers. "They cut all the tips of the trees and put them in big piles. And they ended up ... with two to three feet of snow, and they couldn't dig them out."
Frazer firs have replaced balsams as the tree of choice locally, according to Lambert. "They hold their needles a little better, they're a little stronger," he said.
But Wilson Farm is trying some different varieties this year, including the Blue Dan, which Wilson describes as a Fraser-balsam fir mix, and the concolor fir, which has a citrusy smell. "Some of these other trees are more popular in Michigan or the Northwest and are getting more popular here," Wilson said.
The average time to grow a 6- to 7-foot Christmas tree is seven years.
"Most growers thought it was a very good growing season," said Jim Colburn of MerriHill Tree Farm in Merrimac. "In our area, it was a little too warm and dry, but overall I think it was ... pretty good."
MerriHill started selling its trees the day after Thanksgiving.
"We've had a good season so far," Colburn said. "And this weekend, providing the weather cooperates, is really the traditional busy weekend."
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