By David Harry
Staff Writer

Gathered by the barn doors at Holmes Tree Farm in Kennebunk last Friday, workers watched Mike McAllister pull in front of the driveway and then back up.
“Now that’s a Christmas tree,” said one person as they looked at the tree that drooped peak-first over the tailgate of McAllister’s pickup truck.
Most of the customers braving the driving rain at the tree farm did not haul away a tree exceeding 15 feet in height as McAllister did, but those who did buy trees were the first wave of customers tree farmers count on as surely as store owners do shoppers the day after Thanksgiving.
According to Dave Rice, the president of the 125-member Maine Christmas Tree Association, last weekend and the next two weekends are prime time for farmers to sell trees they have often cultivated for more than a decade.
Rice said determining how much money is made from tree sales annually is difficult because growers keep sales figures close to their vests, but the time frame for making money is a small one.
The planting, fertilizing, weeding and trimming needed to create trees people want is a year ‘round job.
McAllister, a Lyman resident out with his wife Ashley and their daughter, said he was following a family tradition the couple established. With 16-foot cathedral ceilings at their home, he said they look for big trees, but usually in better weather.
“I didn’t want to come out today, she did,” he said.
Farm owners Diane Holmes-Brandt and her husband David Brandt said they were surprised by the people who did want to come out in the bad weather.
In Scarborough, Nancy Pearson, who owns Beech Ridge Farm with her husband Jim Pearson, said the turnout Friday was also strong.
“The people who came out were prepared,” she said while noting the farm routinely sells to customers headed back to out of state homes after Thanksgiving or to families with college-age children who are home for a holiday break and want to put up a Christmas tree before going back to school.
Inside the gift store at Holmes Tree Farm, the Wolf family from York sipped hot cider and dried off, having cut down a Christmas tree for the first time.
“Hands down – this is a new tradition,” said Lauren Wolf as her daughter Norah, 4, gaped at dolls and decorations.
Lauren Wolf said the tree had to be bought last Friday, before her older daughter Beth Wisnoki left with her husband for their home in Allentown, Pa.
“This really starts the Christmas spirit,” Beth Wisnoski said.”
Pearson and Holmes-Brandt said they count on repeat customers every year enjoying a tradition that is passed on to generations. Holmes-Brandt said sales will peak as Kennebunk residents enjoy the Prelude celebration.
Pearson anticipates the first weekend in December to be the busiest each year, and said harder economic times may limit the accessories people buy, including wreaths.
“The economy will not hurt you when it comes to a tree,” said Pearson.
Holmes-Brandt agreed, but said there are more than enough hazards caused by climate and weather.
Last year, Kennebunk was hit hard by an ice storm that left the farm without power. The farm stayed open, but ice and snow-laden trees are difficult to carry and wrap in mesh, Dave Brandt said.
The damp weather this summer also hurt trees, Pearson said, because of water logged roots and discoloring of trees. She estimated the farm lost 500 trees to wet weather.
Rice said the excessive rain might have been a boon to some farmers, though.
“Somebody with sandy soil might have been praising the Lord,” Rice said about conditions in June and July.
From planting to tree stand, it may be a decade before a seedling becomes the centerpiece of a Christmas celebration. Seedlings bought from sources such as Western Maine Nurseries in Fryeburg may already be two years old, Pearson said.
Rice said trees are as much a commodity as tomatoes or potatoes, grown to be cultivated. While they are growing, Holmes-Brandt said an acre of trees daily converts carbon dioxide into enough oxygen for 18 people.
She said every tree cut annually is replaced with a seedling planted next to a stump that has been ground up and provides nourishment for the new tree.
Pearson recommended just using water to keep a tree fresh, but said customers who drive more than 20 minutes to take a tree home should then trim an additional inch off the trunk to reopen pores and ensure the tree continues to draw water in the stand.
As he tied a tree to the top of his minivan, Eric Frehm got a lesson in holiday traditions.
Frehm, who is Jewish, was out with his wife Sarah and their daughter, on their first farm visit. The rain drenched Frehm as he struggled with ropes, bungee cords and the mesh holding the tree.
“Do they teach you this in Sunday school?” he asked.

Staff writer David Harry can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 219