HARMONY, Pa. — Many families will head out to Grupp’s Christmas Tree Farm in Harmony, Butler County.
The farm is preparing for a big weekend.
“This year, with Thanksgiving being late, Dec. 1 is already on Sunday, so we are going right into the busy season right off the bat, so this is the Super Bowl,” co-owner John Grupp said.
Hundreds of families are expected to visit the farm which has been a family business for decades.
“We’ve been here 50 years, we’ve been growing trees for about 42 and selling them for 37 years,” co-owner Jack Grupp said.
Despite the dry weather, Grupp’s has plenty of inventory.
“We plant Canaan fir and concolor they are a little bit more drought resistant we are really lucky that Fraser fir are the ones that need a lot of water and some farms early on have lost quite a few,” John Grupp explained.
Channel 11 learned Pine Hill Farms in Evans City, a small family-owned farm that has been around for 80 years, took a huge hit from the drought. Ninety percent of the trees they planted in the last two years have dried up, meaning they will only be open this weekend. They do have a good stock of 9 to 14-foot Fraser fir but are limited on 6 to 8-foot trees.
Over the years – we’ve told you about there being a tree shortage due to weather – high demand and fewer farms. But last three years – the tree prices at Grupp’s have luckily stayed the same for their customers.
“We do the best we can to make sure you get a good tree, a wreath or you just want to visit and talk to us, we like that too,” Jack Grupp said.
Grupp’s opens at 9 a.m. on Black Friday and will be open all weekend. They will be open on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays leading up to Christmas Day.
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