TREE LOTS OFFERING COUNTLESS TREES FOR CHRISTMAS SEASON

It's one of those enduring symbols of Christmas: tree lots stacked full of evergreens of all shapes and sizes, exuding that pine-needle aroma.

It's a symbol that's very visible these days in Cape Girardeau where parking lots have been transformed into mini-forests of Christmas trees.

Most of the tree lots opened Friday, with many of them selling locally grown trees. They are generally open seven days a week, and stay open as late as 9 p.m.

Prices are about the same as last year, ranging from about $15 to $30, depending primarily on the size, tree lot operators say. Some larger cut trees are in the $45 range.

Christmas trees are big business for state Rep. David Schwab and his wife, Phyllis. They own a Christmas tree farm near Jackson, where customers can cut their own trees.

Schwab's Pines also operates a tree lot in Cape Girardeau, at the corner of Kingshighway and Broadway, and supplies freshly cut trees for more than a dozen lots throughout the region.

Counting both wholesale and retail operations, the Schwabs sell about 4,000 to 5,000 Christmas trees each year.

As with most of the tree lots, the Schwabs sell primarily Scotch pine.

"It is a hardy Christmas tree that does well in this area for us," said Phyllis Schwab.

Most Scotch pine are grown for seven years on average before they are cut, she explained. "We plant three trees to every one we cut."

Phyllis Schwab said the Cape Girardeau tree lot offers a wide range of trees. "This year, we particularly have beautiful, big trees, the larger ones over 10 feet."

"We are starting delivery of trees this year because we realize not everyone is equipped to handle them," she said. There's a $5 charge for delivery.

Phyllis Schwab said they sold some trees even before Thanksgiving. Wholesale deliveries began a week ago.

Following the Thanksgiving meal Thursday, the Schwab family was hard at work setting up the tree lot. "We don't sleep, we're elves," quipped Phyllis Schwab.

"Every indication is that this is going to be one heck of a good Christmas year," she said.

David Schwab said nationwide there's an over production of Christmas trees, which helps keep the price down for the consumer.

Phyllis Schwab said a cut Christmas tree of up to 8 feet in height can run about $3.50 a foot.

Cold, snowy weather is a help, not a hindrance to those selling the evergreens. "The colder, the better," she pointed out.

The Cape Girardeau Evening Optimist Club has operated a tree lot for years at Town Plaza.

"We are the only ones that sell balsam," said Joe Sampson, the civic club's tree lot chairman.

The balsams come from Nova Scotia. "Then we have pines from David Schwab."

The lot also has a limited number of Fraser firs from North Carolina. "They are kind of a cross between a balsam and a pine tree," explained Sampson.

The Optimists sell about 600 to 700 trees annually, with the money going to various projects for youth.

Prices range from $8-$12 for a 3- to 4-foot balsam, to $37-$45 for a 9- to 10-foot tree.

Scotch pines range from $14 for a 4-foot tree to $44 for a 10-foot tree, said Sampson.

Some Cape Girardeau businesses are also selling trees. Sunny Hill Gardens sells Scotch pine grown on owner Paul Schnare's Christmas tree farm.

Other types, including Norway spruce and white pine, are sold "balled and burlapped" for planting, said Schnare.

Prices are about the same as last year, ranging from $18 to $30 for cut trees and $30 to $60 for live trees, he said.

Sleepy Hollow furniture store is selling freshly cut Scotch pines. For a 6- to 7-foot tree, prices are in the $16 to $20 range.

Owner David Patrick said, "It's an attention-getter, plus it will draw people down here to the store."

John Koch, a local veterinarian, sells several varieties of Scotch pine from a tree lot set up next to his Cape Small Animal Clinic. He also supplies trees to a number of other lots.

Koch estimates he has more than 20,000 Christmas trees growing on a 30-acre tract in Bollinger County.

This is the fourth year for Koch's tree lot. "It's probably our biggest year to date in terms of sheer numbers and quality of trees," he said.

Most of the trees are in the 4- to 7-foot range.

"People have a tendency to want to have the kind of tree that they grew up with," said Koch. "I suppose the Scotch pine traditionally is the prettiest Christmas tree."

Koch said he started growing Christmas trees as a hobby and to provide something for his teenage sons to do. But it's become a major endeavor.

"It's gotten to be almost like a second job," he noted.

"The truth of the matter is we make very little on the trees," said Koch. "The market is so competitive."