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9 | W aterloo C hronicle | T hursday,N ovem ber 25,2021 w aterloochronicle.ca ylppa snoitpecxe emos /sesahcrup wen ot seilppa reffo /seititnauq timil ot thgir eht evreser eW KCOTS DEHSIMELB /DEHSIBRUFER SEDULCNI ELAS* MP3 - MA01 :YADRUTAS MP6 - MA01 :YADIRF SRUOH EROTS HPLEUG 9Z6 H1N NO ,hpleuG ,dR waletihW 0705 IN-STORE &ONLINE@BADBOY.CA 90%OFFUPTO $200,000 IN GIVEAWAYS!OVER FREEWITHPURCHASE IN 3 DAYS! FRIDAY NOV 26 6AM! IMMEDIATE DELIVERY IN STOCK #1010479 | 3HDMI | 60HZ #1009777 | 3HDMI | 60HZ #1010480 | 2HDMI | 60HZ #1009779 | 3HDMI | 60HZ DELIVERY $298 SAVE $200 $188 SAVE $90 $748 SAVE $150 $848 SAVE $150 32" RCA SMART LED TV32" RCA SMART LED TV 42" RCA SMART LED TV42" RCA SMART LED TV 65" RCA SMART LED TV65" RCA SMART LED TV 70" RCA SMART LED TV70" RCA SMART LED TV WHILE SUPPLIES LAST 42" 65" 70" 32" $238 AFTER 8 AM$238 AFTER 8 AM $788 AFTER 8 AM$788 AFTER 8 AM$888 AFTER 8 AM$888 AFTER 8 AM$218 AFTER 8 AM$218 AFTER 8 AM Many homes in the Wa- terloo Region may not have a real Christmas tree this year. This is because the region is experiencing a shortage of Christmas trees. Perry Grobe, co-owner of Grobe Nursery and Gar- den Centre in Breslau, says this is a Canada-wide pre- dicament. "The supply is far small- er than what the current demand is for these trees," he says. Grobe says the shortage is mainly because of pro- duction issues related to the weather. "In Quebec, they had a severe frost this year that caused damage to the new shoots of the growing tips of the plant," said Grobe. The same thing occurred in Nova Scotia in 2018. Al- though the frost doesn't kill the trees, it makes them less sellable. "When (a) conifer gets severe frost damage on the new growth, springing can take some time for those plants to be trimmed and developed to have that damage no longer notice- able," he says. Shirley Brennan, execu- tive director of the Canadi- an Christmas Trees Asso- ciation, agrees. "We're also seeing that Mother Nature over the past few years has not been as helpful to us as we need," she says. Grobe thinks economic factors also affected the supply of trees. "During a period of downturn, the growers would not have necessarily planted plants when they didn't have the money available to plant them," he says. And like many other things, the price of Christmas trees has increased. "People can expect that their Christ- mas trees, fresh-cut trees particularly, will absolute- ly be more money than last year," says Grobe. As more and more peo- ple are moving into the Wa- terloo Region, the demand for Christmas trees keeps increasing, yet "we haven't been able to buy and source any more trees to meet that increase in de- mand," Grobe says. For Alison McCrindle, owner of Chickadee Christmas Trees in Pus- linch, her store is "in a good place" because they grow their own trees and buy some trees. Although she would have liked to have ordered pre-cut trees this year, there was a cap on how much she could buy. "We were not allowed to order a lot more than we did," she says. She thinks her store will sell out quickly because she's not sure they can meet the in- creased demand. McCrin- dle says people should not wait till the last minute to buy a tree. "I would like to say that they're going to be able to find a tree on the 20th of December, but I don't know how likely that is this year." Grobe's advice for early buyers: know how long you want to have the tree for, buy it and keep it cold and out of the sun and wind. He says one trick is to delay putting the tree up in the house. "The clock starts ticking on the freshness of the tree once it's brought inside the house." Brennan agrees. "If you're going to get your tree earlier rather than lat- er and you're not putting it in your home and watering it every day, then make sure it's sheltered from the wind and the sun," she says, adding to make a fresh cut at the bottom of the tree, put it in water so it's drinking again and wa- ter it every day. Brennan also encourag- es people to buy trees that perfectly match the size of their homes. "If I have to re- move furniture out of a room to be able to get my Christmas tree in, that's not buying a tree that matches my living space." CHRISTMAS TREE SHORTAGE ACROSS REGION The Canadian Christmas Trees Association says mother nature has played a factor in a Christmas tree shortage. Metroland file photo SEYITAN MORITIWON NEWS THERE'S AN INCREASE IN DEMAND FOR TREES BUT WEATHER, ECONOMIC FACTORS ARE AFFECTING THE SUPPLY SCAN FOR MORE Scan this code for more local news.