Return of Wet Winter Weather Is Welcome Relief!
Two years of favorable weather conditions were all that was needed for our young Christmas trees to take root.
During four years of struggle with drought from 2017 onwards, we faced declining seedling survival rates and drastically reduced growth rates on the younger trees. Then came the massively destructive forest fire in September of 2020, which was followed by a record setting heat dome in Western Oregon in June of 2021. Our small family Christmas tree farm was turning into a showcase of the real-world effects of climate change.
But us farmers are certainly a stubborn bunch, so we just soldiered on. And that resilience has been rewarded as the last two years have seen a return to a wet winter weather pattern across the Pacific coast states. Epic mountain snowfall levels were paired with a cool wet spring to produce favorable growing conditions throughout the region. This has been especially beneficial to the many young trees we planted since the fire. What a difference two years can make!
This past year the survival rates of our newly planted seedling returned to levels considered average back in the 1980’s when consistently wet weather was thought of as “normal”. And the trees planted after the fire especially seemed to have taken off, with remarkable growth rates and demonstrably better color and overall vigor. It is very rewarding to see life seize the opportunity to thrive.
Of course, no one knows whether the beneficial weather will continue in the years to come. But even if we do return to more harsh conditions in the future, for this crop of trees at least things are off to a great start.
