MILWAUKEE — It’s that time of year when families start setting up Christmas trees, but you need to shop early and be prepared to pay more.

What You Need To Know

  • Buy your Christmas tree and fresh greenery early, because there is a supply shortage

  • Expect to pay more this year for your tree

  • Kellners grows some of its own products and has bought supplies ahead of schedule

  • The savings from these strategies will be passed on to the customers

Casey Dembowiak is ready for the craziness of the Christmas tree season. The owner of Kellner Greenhouses in Milwaukee, said he’s relieved that he got a full shipment of trees this year and believes they’ll sell fast.

“I definitely would get out there Thanksgiving weekend or the weekend after. Last year we were short on trees, we are still a little short this year, but it was a 10-day season for us last year,” said Dembowiak.

Dembowiak said trees are in short supply. For the past few years, growers have over harvested because of high demand. Wildfires on the west coast and a shortage of workers to harvest the trees have also had a negative impact on the supply.

“It doesn’t seem like anybody really wants to get out there and is enthused to work like they used to be,” said Dembowiak.

(Spectrum News 1/Wendy Strong)

His wife, Kelly Crawford, is co-owner of Kellner Greenhouses. She said the trees in their lot and decorative greenery will go faster than the holiday plants in their greenhouse.

“Both here and around the country, I think people should plan ahead,” she said. “I don’t think the amount of trees that were available three years ago are out there anymore and there will be shortages.”

The duo can’t change the cost of trees, but they do try to control the costs of what’s sold in their greenhouse. They started growing some of their own plants, eliminating the need to buy from other growers. That also saves them money on freight costs. The couple also bought their plastic pots ahead of time too, before prices went way up.

This strategic thinking gave Kellner’s the ability to pass the saving on to their customers. That is important to the husband-and-wife team since taking over the business 12 years ago, which has operated as a greenhouse in the same location since 1891.

“People that have been coming here have been coming here for years and we have a lot of new customers too that keep coming back. It’s just a really neat little place in the middle of the city,” said Crawford.

Kellner Greenhouses opens for the holiday season the day after Thanksgiving. In mid-January, the greenhouse will open on the weekends.

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