Christmas tree imports gone; options still available

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In the annual battle between supply and demand for Christmas trees, demand won an early knockout this year.

In Kahului, Lowe's, which nearly doubled its order of Mainland trees compared with last year, sold out a week ago, just days after putting them on sale.

Still, it might not be too late. Two local growers of Monterey pines had trees for sale Wednesday, although Shirley Buetler at Upcountry Farm Specialties said she "only had about 70 that I would sell." Kula Botanical Gardens also has trees, although they were selling fast, according to owner Helen McCord.

Many people on Maui order Mainland trees early through service clubs, and most of those were delivered starting around last week Saturday, and commercial and church-sponsored tree lots also opened that weekend. It didn't take long for the trees to sell out.

Kula Botanical Gardens, located at 638 Kekaulike Ave., also had its big sale Saturday.

Since then, it has had trees available at its gift shop, and workers were cutting them Wednesday, so they were fresh.

At Upcountry Farm Specialties, located at 51 Calasa Road, trees are on sale from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. until all are gone.

The tree famine is even more acute on Oahu. Buetler and McCord both said people there were having friends buy Maui trees and ship them by air to Honolulu.

"A couple people have gone to that much trouble," Buetler said.

Last year was also a tree-short year, and it was a nail-biting guessing game for sellers whether to order big or small. Evidently, they went too small.

Buetler said the doubts about whether state inspectors would be on duty to clear imports added to the anxiety. At the state's plant quarantine office in Honolulu, inspections were going smoothly, and an inspector said the number of rejections was typical.

Not all Pacific Northwest trees make it because some shipments always contain unwanted alien species.

An alien that has been here for generations, the Mexican weeping pine, presents an opportunity to get some exercise, take home a free tree and rid Haleakala National Park and its borders of a "moderately invasive" pest.

Anne Rillero, communications director at Pacific Whale Foundation, said that removing the trees from the park is a "gift" to the native species of the park.

"And they are free - so you can use the money saved to donate to your favorite cause," she said.

The foundation and the Friends of Haleakala National Park sponsor weed-and-cut expeditions during the year which, just before Christmas, turn into the Maui version of going into the New England woods to pick out the perfect tree.

On Maui, the quarry is unlikely to be perfect. Matt Wordeman, president of the Friends, said the Mexican weeping pine, growing wild, "tends to be scraggly," although it has beautiful, long needles and a "real nice smell."

With a bit of luck, a nicely shaped tree can be gotten.

Earlier this month, the Friends guided about 70 people, "including a lot of Cub Scouts," to an area of Haleakala Ranch near Hosmer Grove that is being slowly invaded by the unwanted pines. Wordeman did not have an estimate of how many trees were cleared out, but at least five woodchoppers filled five trucks with trees, which they gave to friends.

Some were big, too, a 9-footer not uncommon. That's a hundred bucks worth of tree, if it were a noble or Douglas fir from Oregon.

Last week Saturday, 20 volunteers with the foundation's group uprooted Mexican weeping pines.

The foundation runs Volunteering on Vacation expeditions throughout the year, and this time of year they are projects not just of eradication but of what might be called adaptive reuse.

"They are very different from the ordinary Christmas trees that most people have in their homes," Rillero said. "While they are not as stately and shapely as commercial Christmas trees, they do have a nice scent and are more eco-friendly, in that they were not shipped by barge to get to Maui."

Another option for people looking for a tree to decorate during the holidays is offered by the Permaculture Group, a Maui business that makes available a variety of live, potted native tree species - between 3 and 10 feet tall - all preselected for decorating inside or outside.

The species of trees available include ohi'a lehua, ha'o, kului and the smaller ahinahina and dryland taro or kalo. The trees range from $50 to $100 each, and the plants sell for less than $20. Each order includes free delivery.

For more information or to order a tree, call 250-1469, send e-mail to proudtobuylocal@gmail.com or visit the Web site at permaculturegroup.com.

The Pacific Whale Foundation conducts weekly Volunteering on Vacation projects, ranging from pulling weeds in normally inaccessible parts of Honokowai and Launiupoko valleys to maintaining beach paths in South Maui. During 2008, visitors to Maui contributed 4,785 hours of labor to the projects.

The program is supported through an award from the Hawaii Tourism Authority, plus funds and in-kind support from Pacific Whale Foundation.

A calendar of 2010 service projects is on the foundation's Web site at Pacificwhale.org.

The next trip to the park will be Jan. 3.

The Friends of Haleakala National Park also conducts service trips throughout the year. Announcements can be seen at www.fhnp.org.

* Harry Eagar can be reached at heagar@mauinews.com.