Employees at Anne Ellen Christmas Tree Farm in Manalapan prepare a tree for a ride to its home for the holidays on Dec. 4. STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER ERIC SUCAR The pilgrimage is one taken by countless families at this time each year — the search for the perfect Christmas tree.
“Everybody has their tradition,” said Alan Patterson of Patterson Greenhouses in Howell. “It’s a fun season.”
And whether that search takes place among rolling acres of rooted pines, firs and spruces or in a blacktopped parking lot of precut Tannenbaums, the Garden State has no shortage of offerings. In fact, the country’s first Christmas tree farm was established in Mercer County in 1901, according to the New Jersey Christmas Tree Growers Association. And this year, a tree from Wyckoff’s Christmas Tree Farm in Warren County was chosen for display at the White House.
Today, the statewide association has more than 200 members, with farms of all sizes whose owners enjoy the annual influx of holiday business. The U.S. Census of Agriculture has ranked New Jersey sixth in the nation in the number of Christmas tree growers, with 1,150 farms that grow more than 6,000 acres of Christmas trees.
Bill Kohlhepp, owner of Coastal Evergreen in East Brunswick, is dressed as Santa as he watches an employee prepare a tree for sale at his lot at the Brunswick Square Mall. STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER ERIC SUCAR “Most everyone has other jobs,” said Donna Cole, executive secretary of the tree growers group and owner of a farm in Alexandria Township, Hunterdon County. “It’s almost like an avocation.”
The Patterson family is an example of that. Stationed on the farm that has been in the family since the early 1800s, the Christmas tree operation is only one facet of their livelihood. The expansive property is also home to hay, straw, corn and flowers throughout the year.
Customers can have a tree cut for them at W.V. Griffin Nurseries in Monroe. STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER ERIC SUCAR “So, everything kind of works together to pay the bills,” Patterson said.
Although no numbers are available for revenue specific to Christmas trees, they comprise a multimillion-dollar industry, according to New Jersey Department of Agriculture spokeswoman Lynne Richmond.
For former East Brunswick police officer Bill Kohlhepp — who left the department around 1980 after exceeding his annual salary in one season of selling trees — the business is his bread and butter.
“It’s a full-time business,” he said. “That’s my business — I grow Christmas trees.”
Kohlhepp’s first foray into selling the trees was 41 years ago, when he bought from local growers. He has since graduated to growing about a half-million trees on 400 acres in South Carolina.
“We sell about 60,000 trees a year,” he said, explaining that he supplies them to sellers from the Boston area down to Florida and beyond.
“We’re actually the only Christmas tree grower in the United States that sends trees to Russia,” he said, adding that they send 7,000 trees to Russia each year. “We put them in refrigerated containers, and it’s quite a project.”
Although Coastal Evergreen’s reach extends far and wide, Kohlhepp keeps close to home, selling his precut trees on the outskirts of the Brunswick Square Mall property on Route 18 in East Brunswick.
According to Cole, those seeking the best-quality tree should look to choose-andcut farms, as the trees will retain moisture longer, are more fire-resistant and have better needle retention, she said.
“Actually, it has more to do with the variety of tree,” Kohlhepp said.
For example, he said, Douglas firs, native to Oregon, tend to lose needles quickly, while Fraser firs, typically grown in North Carolina, have the best needle retention.
According to a 2012 survey of New Jersey Christmas tree growers, the most popular species grown last year were Douglas fir and blue spruce, accounting for more than 40 percent of trees planted throughout the state.
No matter the type, those who grow the trees to sell must plan ahead. It takes seven years to grow full-sized Christmas trees, at which time they are 6 to 7 feet tall, according to Cole. Planting starts in March, when the ground starts to thaw.
“You plant every year,” Cole said. “We usually can put 1,000 trees on one acre.”
The work doesn’t end at the planting.
“You have to pay attention to any bug or worm or fungus,” Cole said. “You only spray when you have a need for it.”
Kohlhepp has about 20 year-round employees on his farm, with another 50 added during the busy season, he said.
“It’s just a lot of hard work, and I think people don’t really know what goes into growing a Christmas tree,” he said.
But it’s not all work and no play for those in the business. Just ask Kohlhepp, who begins growing his big, white beard each June to ready himself for the role of Santa on weekends at his East Brunswick outpost.
“I was amazed at how many kids are afraid of Santa Claus,” he said. “And then there are kids that’ll run up to you and hug you.”
Santa also makes weekend visits to Patterson Greenhouses, where a unique twist for weekend visitors brings alpacas, along with the products of their wool, to the farm.
Many of the state’s Christmas tree farms offer more than just their main staple, with hot cocoa, hayrides and other holiday needs adding to their allure.
“I think the nicest thing at our farm … is we do tagging,” Patterson said. “That’s how we did it as kids.”
Tagging involves families coming out early in the season to reserve a particular tree, and returning later to retrieve their pick.
According to Patterson, everyone has preferences, with some opting for the simplicity of a precut, and others insisting on bringing their own saws to do the work themselves.
One family comes equipped with popcorn — not only to snack on, but also to drop a pile near their top-rated trees before making a final decision.
“It’s important to maintain those traditions,” Patterson said. “You get to know people from year to year. You watch the kids grow up. It’s just a whole big family outing.”