Drought, heat take toll on Christmas firs - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

Drought, heat take toll on Christmas firs

Posted: Updated:
BLOOMINGTON -

Indiana Christmas tree growers are rethinking their planting strategies after the summer's heat and drought took a steep toll on one of the holiday's most popular trees.

Greg Fowler lost 10 percent of his Fraser fir crop at his 45-acre Bloomington tree farm. He tells The Herald-Times he won't plant more because the trees don't tolerate Indiana's climate.

Fraser firs are native to high elevations and cooler climates found in the southern Appalachian mountains. Fowler says temperatures above 85 degrees are hard on the trees.

Purdue Extension Service forester Lindsey Purcell says climate change is altering many growing zones and pushing some species out of Indiana.

Fans of the Fraser fir will likely still be able to find them as tree sellers ship them in from cooler areas.

(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Powered by WorldNow
Links to the FCC website to view WTHR and/or WALV’s on-line public inspection files:
WTHR: https://stations.fcc.gov/station-profile/WTHR   ||   WALV: https://stations.fcc.gov/station-profile/WALV
Individuals with disabilities may contact Jill Pursell at publicfile@wthr.com, or 317.655.5602, for assistance with access to the public inspection files.
Powered by WorldNowAll content © Copyright 2000 - 2013 WorldNow and WTHR. For more information on this site, please read our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.