為什么好的圣誕樹可能很難找到

為什么好的圣誕樹可能很難找到

If you're someone who enjoys the beauty and smell of a real Christmas tree, you might have to search a little harder and pull a few more bills out of your wallet this holiday season.

如果你喜歡一棵真正的圣誕樹的美麗和香味，那么在這個圣誕季節(jié)，你可能需要更努力地搜尋一番，從你的錢包里拿出更多的鈔票。

A national Christmas tree shortage could make finding the perfect evergreen a bit more difficult this year. (Photo: gpointstudio/Shutterstock)

In Portland, Oregon, KGW reports that longtime farms have shut down due to lack of trees to sell. The shortage will likely drive up prices, industry watchers say.

在俄勒岡州的波特蘭，KGW報告說，由于缺乏可供出售的樹木，長期以來的農(nóng)場已經(jīng)關(guān)閉。行業(yè)觀察人士說，供應(yīng)短缺可能會推高價格。

Farmers are not only working with fewer trees, but shorter trees, Mary Gruber who helps run Old Stone Farm in Chester County, Pennsylvania, told WHYY.

幫助經(jīng)營賓夕法尼亞州切斯特縣舊石農(nóng)場的瑪麗·格魯伯告訴WHYY網(wǎng)站，農(nóng)民們不僅要用更少的樹，還要用更短的樹。

A shortage one year can have an impact on business forever, Gruber said.

格魯伯說，一年的短缺可能會對企業(yè)產(chǎn)生永久性的影響。

'We've never run out of Christmas trees'

“我們從未用完圣誕樹”

Those looking for hard-to-find-varieties may have better luck visiting u-cut farms rather than a traditional lot. (Photo: SupportPDX [CC BY 2.0]/Flickr)

According to the American Christmas Tree Association, 32.8 million real Christmas trees were purchased in 2018. In the most recently survey (2016), the group found that of the 100 million U.S. households displaying a tree, 81% opted for an artificial version.

根據(jù)美國圣誕樹協(xié)會的數(shù)據(jù)，2018年購買了3280萬棵真正的圣誕樹。在最近的一次調(diào)查(2016年)中，該組織發(fā)現(xiàn)，在1億美國家庭中，81%選擇了人造圣誕樹。

For those traditionalists that remain, the hunt for the perfect tree — in particular for hard-to-find varieties like Noble firs — have farms around the country struggling to keep pace. It's estimated it may be another six or eight years before the industry is able to fully close the gap. Add in additional pressures from increasing droughts, wildfires and a lack of quality seedlings, and that timeframe may grow larger still.

對于那些還保留著傳統(tǒng)的人來說，尋找完美的樹種——尤其是那些很難找到的品種，比如高貴的冷杉——使得全國各地的農(nóng)場都在努力跟上步伐。據(jù)估計，該行業(yè)可能還需要6到8年的時間才能完全填補這一差距。再加上日益嚴重的干旱、野火和缺乏優(yōu)質(zhì)幼苗帶來的額外壓力，這個時間框架可能會變得更大。

In the meantime, growers are trying their best to gently raise prices without crippling customers' wallets. A poll conducted by the National Christmas Tree Association found that the "mean average" spent by consumers per tree — that's a measurement of what those who took the poll spent, not the average price of a tree — rose from $36.50 in 2008 to nearly $78 in 2018.

與此同時，種植者正在盡最大努力在不傷及消費者錢包的情況下溫和地提高價格。美國圣誕樹協(xié)會進行的一項民意調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn)，消費者每棵圣誕樹的“平均”花費從2008年的36.50美元上升到2018年的近78美元。“平均”花費是衡量那些參加調(diào)查的人的花費，而不是一棵樹的平均價格。

Finding the perfect tree

尋找完美的樹

To gauge if the tree you're interested in will survive the holidays, experts recommend the 'sniff, lift, and snap' test. (Photo: Phil Roeder [CC BY 2.0]/Flickr)

To improve your chances of finding the perfect Christmas tree, experts recommend inquiring if your local farm or lot has an early reservation program. You may also have more luck at u-cut farms than with store- or lot-stocked trees. To figure out if the variety you're interested will last throughout the holiday season, Bryan Ostlund of the Pacific Northwest Christmas Tree Association urges consumers to "sniff, lift, and snap." He explains:

為了提高你找到完美圣誕樹的機會，專家建議詢問你當?shù)氐霓r(nóng)場或地塊是否有提前預定的計劃。你在u型農(nóng)場的運氣可能也比那些儲存或大量樹木的農(nóng)場好。太平洋西北圣誕樹協(xié)會的布萊恩·奧斯特倫德建議消費者“聞一聞、舉起來、拍一拍”，以確定你感興趣的圣誕樹品種是否能在整個圣誕季都保持新鮮。他解釋說:

"A needle on a Christmas tree — a Nobel fir, a Douglas fir — [is] kind of like a carrot," Ostlund told Northwest News Network. "If you go to bend a nice fresh carrot that’s still full of water it snaps readily. If it’s dehydrated it going to be more, it’s going to bend much more easily. It isn’t going to snap right away."

“圣誕樹上的一根針——一棵諾貝爾冷杉，一棵道格拉斯冷杉——有點像胡蘿卜，”奧斯特倫德告訴西北新聞網(wǎng)。“如果你去彎曲一個新鮮的胡蘿卜，它仍然充滿了水，它很容易折斷。如果它脫水了，它會更容易彎曲。它不會馬上折斷。”

Lifting the tree to gauge its weight is an excellent way to feel whether it's hydrated or not. As for sniffing, if the smell doesn't make you want to haul out the holly, it's probably best to move on.

舉著樹來測量它的重量是一種很好的方式來感受它是否含水。至于嗅探，如果這種氣味并沒有讓你想把冬青樹拿出來，那可能是最好的選擇。