SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine — For all the concerns about inflation and the economy, Americans aren’t cuttingcorners on a focalpoint of lotsof events this vacation season: the Christmas tree.
Retailers from Home Depot and Lowes to mommy and pop operations raised their costs on trees — however individuals are still purchasing them.
Some Christmas tree growers worried over external aspects — high fuel, fertilizer and labor expenses — just to rediscover that vacation plant is mainly inflation-proof, even as Americans cut back on retail costs last month.
The expense of an average-size tree from the regional Rotary Club’s Christmas trees in South Portland, Maine, is $70 — $5 more than last year.
A study of 55 of the country’s biggest Christmas tree wholesalers showed practically all of them