Mail Order Christmas Trees

Mail order Christmas trees AG WORLD Ag World 9-1-24 George Lind mails Christmas trees to people who can't get out or who live in places where trees are scarce or too expensive. The Eagle Creek, Ore., tree farmer thinks his new "trees by mail" idea will catch on. Lind first planted five acres of Christmas trees 14 years ago and now has some 40 acres. He sells most to the wholesale markets in California but, about three years ago, decided to try mail order. When UPS said it would handle a 5-ft. long box, he was in business. The trees are wrapped in nylon netting and put in a box with the butt end packed in moist sphagnum moss to keep them fresh. Trees are never cut more than a day before packing so they're usually fresher when they reach a mail order customer than most trees people buy. Trees weigh about 25 lbs. packed in the box. Boxes are 11¢ by 11¢ in. in size and 5 ft. long. Mail order trees sell for $30, including handling and shipping. Lind sells his mail order concept at shows and fairs in the Northwest and also does some advertising but says most business has been generated by word of mouth. He has already shipped trees to customers from Florida to Hawaii. One young man bought a tree to take to the Caribbean as a gift for his girlfriend. For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, River Ranch Christmas Trees, 25775 S.E. River Ranch Road, Eagle Creek, Ore. 97022 (ph 503 637-3378).

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