Although some local families prefer setting up artificial Christmas trees to decorate their homes during the holiday season, those looking for live greenery have limited options since one of Loudon County’s main vendors, Buttermilk Farms, has sold out of trees this year.
But Walter Conklin, who makes the jaunt from Grayson County, Va., to East Tennessee each year to sell fresh-cut trees can help.
Conklin, co-owner of C&R Tree Farms, sets up shop the Sunday before Thanksgiving to sell real trees in the lot next to Gondolier Pizza in Lenoir City.
“This is our ninth year here,” Conklin said. “I was up at Dixie Lee for three years. (Local developer) Mark Matlock bought a tree from me and wanted to know if we’d be back another year. After telling him yes, he showed me this location.”
Conklin sits outside his recreational vehicle in the parking lot so he can be easily accessible to customers.
“We try to stay open from 8 (a.m.) to 8 (p.m.), Conklin said. “It’s basically a 24-7 business every day of the week.”
Conklin pointed to a second truckload of trees that recently came in, noting that the business usually sells multiple truckloads of trees each year in Lenoir City.
“Some people are buying from us that used to buy from our Dixie Lee location,” Conklin said. “We have lots of repeat business because our trees are fresh cut. They haven’t been out for a month or two.”
Stephen Shumate said this marks the third year he traveled from Virginia with Conklin. He said a lot of work goes into growing and maintaining the trees throughout the year.
“You’ve got to trim them,” Conklin said. “You have to fertilize them. You have to take the pine cones out.”
“You have to spray for bugs and make sure they’re healthy trees,” Shumate added.
“They’re still a lot of work even when it’s not Christmas time,” Conklin said.
Conklin estimated the family business contains 500 acres of trees with an option of planting either in the spring or in the fall.
“That tree over there takes about 10 years to grow,” Conklin said about one of the trees in the lot. “They grow about a foot a year. They don’t just come out of the ground like that. You have to plant them just like anything else.”
Conklin said he sells trees to brokers as well.
“They will buy between 70,000-80,000 trees at one time,” Conklin said. “Then they will turn around and sell them to places like Home Depot.”
Conklin and Shumate said they plan to stay in town for as long as they have trees.
“We’ll probably leave the 21st or when we run out of trees,” Conklin said.
“Last year, I think we left around the 16th or 17th because we were out of trees by then,” Shumate said.
Conklin said he travels to different tree lots to check prices and make sure he’s offering the most reasonable prices without being too “cheap.”
“That tree over there is probably $100 on other lots,” Conklin said.
When asked what he was selling the tree for, Conklin said $60. “There’s not a tree on the lot here over $60,” he said.
Sitting in his recreational vehicle Saturday morning, Conklin said he noticed a boy with his guardian walking around the tree lot. He went back to put his Santa hat on and came out saying, “Ho, Ho, Ho. Merry Christmas.”
“The little boy took me by the leg and wouldn’t let go,” Conklin said, grinning. “He actually thought I was Santa Claus. That made my whole trip here worth it. Something like that happens every year.”
“He even asked the little boy what he wanted for Christmas,” Shumate said. “He was really enjoying talking to ‘Santa’.”
Conklin and Shumate also sell wreaths, although as of Monday afternoon they only had four left.
“My aunt makes the wreaths,” Shumate said. “It’s sort of a family business here.”
Shumate loaded the trunk of customer Linda Jones of Tellico Village as she expressed appreciation for the live tree business.
“I would rather frequent someone who is local,” Jones said. “That’s why I came here today. I’ve always gone to lots where they grow their own Christmas trees instead of stopping by a commercial type of business. I’m originally from Indiana. I always went to (local tree farmers) up there because they work so hard, and this is how they make their money for the year ahead.”
According to the Buttermilk Farms website and voicemail message, the business owners have sold out of Christmas trees this year and will reopen for business Thanksgiving weekend during 2016. A representative from the farm could not be reached for comment.
“Everybody wants big, big trees, and they want them for cheap,” Sue Fulton, who works at Home Depot in Lenoir City as a garden associate, said. “I did notice that the trees were real pretty this year. I didn’t see any bad trees this year.”
