When Leo Ault began selling Christmas trees 40 years ago as a 16-year-old, he never knew it could be such a big business.
For the past 30 years he's sold Christmas trees he's grown on his tree farm in Montana. For the past seven years he has owned a tree lot in American Fork - and has seen an increase in sales despite an increase in lots and a trend toward artificial trees."There are a lot more lots this year then there ever have been," Ault said. "But so far it hasn't hurt my business."
Tree lots in Utah County have increased about 30 percent this year. Lots in Orem alone have almost doubled.
"I believe some of the newer lots that don't have an established clientele have suffered because there are so many lots," Ault said.
Russ Frederico, owner of Frederico Christmas Trees, agrees.
"A new lot we have on 800 North in Orem hasn't done as well as we hoped. But the tree lot we've had for four years has had the best sales in years," Frederico said.
Tree lot sales also suffer from increased sales of artificial trees, but some lot owners believe the artificial tree craze hasn't hit Utah.
"In other parts of the country, almost 50 percent of those that buy Christmas trees have artificial trees. But that hasn't happened in Utah. People here are more traditional and like cut trees," Fred-erico said.
Lot owners say environment-conscious consumers shouldn't be concerned that they are buying fresh trees cut from the forests. Christmas trees are grown as a crop.
"Christmas trees are grown on tree farms. They are purposely grown just for Christmas," Ault said.
Trees sell for anywhere from $5.75 to $120. The average price of a tree in most lots is around $30.
Most lots opened up for business the day after Thanksgiving, but there were few buyers until last weekend because of the fear of having a dead tree before Christmas.
Tree buyers can make sure the tree they buy is fresh by grabbing the branches and seeing if the needles fall off, or poking a fingernail into the trunk of the tree to see if the tree is dry.
"If the tree is dry, then it will be hard to scrape. If the tree is moist, either sap will come out or the tree will feel moist," Frederico said.
Lot owners say the top-selling trees are the noble fir and the alpine fir.
Some lots sell potted trees that can later be planted, and flocked trees. Trees can be delivered to buyers' homes for about $6.