‘I wish I wrote them all down’: For over 50 years, Christmas tree farm has forged memories
Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been pining for a pine tree to put in my family room. Or at least a cypress. I decorated for Christmas a little early this year — vintage Santas and angels, putz houses, bottle trees and anything kitschy.
I even have a pine-scented candle burning that has catapulted my Christmas spirit.
But hundreds of candles can’t imitate the smell of a freshly-cut Christmas tree. The trees are even more special if you cut them down yourself.
That’s why my family and I started a tradition five years ago — we head over to Penland Christmas Tree Farm near Clover in York County. There’s something about sawing your own tree after spotting it among a sea of other trees. Or at least watching your spouse cut it down.
I spent a little time with Penland’s owner Allison Moses who showed me around the farm that boasts more than 30,000 trees on nearly 100 acres. She and her husband Martin took it over from her parents Steve and Judy Penland in 2018.
The tree farm has been in the family for more than 50 years. Steve Penland planted the first tree in 1966 and started selling in 1972. The 79-year-old got the idea from a professor at Clemson University, where he studied forestry.
“My parents worked so hard for this and I have two sisters and a brother, so we were all involved when we were little, because you know that’s what you did on a farm, you worked,” Moses, 45, said.
The family sells about 3,000 trees a year. Moses attributes the popularity of the farm to growth in the community. They have more and more customers every year, she said.
The farm opens on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Cars start lining up before they open at 9 a.m.
The trees include Leyland Cypress, Virginia Pine, White Pine, Carolina Sapphire, Christmas Mint Cypress, Red Cedar and Fraser Fir. The family imports the firs from the North Carolina mountains because they cannot grow here. The firs range in price from $95 to $145.
The trees grown on the farm range in price from $60 to $100, depending on the size. You have to cut those trees down yourself, but the farm provides the saws and carts to carry them to the shed. That’s where they are shaken to remove any loose needles and bound.
“Anyone can come out here who’s on a budget and get a Christmas tree,” Moses said.
In 2022, the farm sold out of trees after nine days over two weekends. This year, they have a great selection to choose from, she added.
Christmas starts early
It all starts in the springtime.
The seedlings are planted where last year’s trees were cut down. It takes five or six years for the trees to be ready to sell, Moses said.
Maintenance of the trees throughout the year is crucial Penland said. They are always doing work, from January to December.
“You’re always doing something, whether you are planting trees in the spring or putting out weed control, trimming the trees or spraying them for bugs,” Penland said.
And then there’s sales time.
“There’s a lot of love and care that goes into these trees,” Moses said.
The most popular tree is the Leyland Cypress because it doesn’t affect allergies as much as others, Moses said.
“They decorate beautiful,” she said, adding they don’t drop needles like the White Pine and Virginia Pine. “You don’t have to run the vacuum as much.”
Steve Penland said one thing that makes the farm special is the family traditions that bring people back every year.
“You can go some places, but you don’t have the family experience that you have when you come out to a chose-and-cut tree farm,” he said.
Moses said they’ve had families that come to the farm for more than 50 years, and who bring their children and grandchildren. “That’s why I wanted to continue the family farm because of the family tradition and seeing all of those families come out,” she said.
Moses hears stories every year about the family traditions.
She remembers a 16-year-old boy who would go to the farm with his grandfather, who passed away, but it reminds him of a happy time.
There’s also a family from Florida that comes to the farm every other year when they visit local family. They always stop by Penland to get their tree, Moses said. Farm workers string-wrap the tree, wrap a net around it, put it in a bag and toss it onto the car.
“And back to Florida they go,” Moses said.
Moses pauses for a second to remember other stories she has heard.
“I wish I wrote them all down,” she added.
Penland Christmas Tree Farm is open 9 a.m-5:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sundays.
The address is 6457 Campbell Road, York, S.C. 29745. Call 803-366-7605 for more details.
