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FOR YEARS TO COME FOR YOUR MONEY BECAUSE PITTSBURGHERS ARE BUYING LIVE CHRISTMAS TREES EARLIER THAN EVER, YOU’LL WANT TO PROTECT THAT INVESTMENT AND KEEP THE NEEDLES FROM FALLING OFF. I TALKED WITH AN EXPERT TREE FARMER WHO SHOWS ME WHICH TREE YOU’LL WANT TO BUY IF YOU WANT TO SAVE $35, WELL, THIS ONE RIGHT HERE IS NOT QUITE SIX. I DON’T KNOW IF WE’RE GOING TO FIND A FOUR FOOTER ON THE LOT TAKING THE DRIVE TO HOZAC FARMS. HEY, DON, YOU WANT TO. YOU WANT TO SHAKE IT AND BAILED, RIGHT? YOU SAID? YEAH, I SEE HIM. LOOK AT YOU. WHOA. THERE. NOT THAT HEAVY. THERE. IN MY YOUNGER DAYS, I COULD DO TWO. YOU CAN SEE WITH YOUR OWN EYES THE INVENTORY FOR THIS YEAR AND INTO THE FUTURE. MARTIN HOZAC PLANTS 5 TO 7000 SEEDLINGS EVERY YEAR. AND YOU’RE HERE TO TELL ME YOU DON’T HAVE A SHORTAGE? NO, NO, WE’RE GOOD. WE’RE GOOD FOR. WE’VE BEEN PLAYING PRETTY HEAVY FOR THE LAST FEW YEARS, SO WE’RE ALL RIGHT. MARTIN SON HELPING OUT THE HOZAC FARM HAS BEEN HERE SINCE 1936. BUT IN 1949, HIS DAD WAS AWAY AT COLLEGE. HE READ AN ARTICLE YOU CAN GET YOU CAN MAKE $3 ON A TREE, PLANT A LITTLE SEEDLING X NUMBER OF YEARS LATER, YOU CAN MAKE THREE BUCKS. SO HE CALLED HIS DAD BACK HERE, MY GRANDFATHER, AND SAID, GET SOME TREES IN THE GROUND. FORGET ABOUT THOSE CHICKENS AND PIGS THAT THEY WERE RAISING. SO 1949 WAS OUR FIRST PLANTING. LET’S HELP YOU CHOOSE THAT TREE. THE FRAZIER FIR HAS EXPLODED IN POPULARITY. THEY HOLD THEIR NEEDLES FOR FOREVER. THEY’RE FAIRLY FAST GROWING. THEY ALWAYS HAVE STRAIGHT TRUNKS, BUT MAINLY THEY LENGTH OF TIME AND THEY’RE SOFT AND EASY TO DECORATE. MY FAMILY’S FAVORITE, THE CONN COLOR FIR. WE GO IN EVERY YEAR. YEAH, IT SMELLS. IT SMELLS LIKE. LIKE TANGERINES. YEAH. LOVE THAT SMELL. OH, IF YOU HAVE CATS, THE BLUE SPRUCE MAY BE A GOOD CHOICE FOR YOU. HOZAC SAYS THEY’RE LESS LIKELY TO CLIMB IT, AND THOSE PEOPLE ARE STILL WACKOS FOR BLUE SPRUCE BECAUSE THEY HOLD GRANDMA’S OLD ORNAMENTS. YOU HAVE THE STIFF BRANCHES. I STILL THINK IT’S THE PRETTIEST TREE OUT THERE, BUT YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU’RE DONE DECORATING A BLUE SPRUCE, YOU’RE BLEEDING IN YOUR FINGERS AND AND THEN THE NEEDLES ARE ON THE GROUND. THEY DON’T HOLD THEIR NEEDLES. THE GREATEST, YOU KNOW, YOU GET MAYBE A MONTH OUT OF THE BLUE SPRUCE, PEOPLE LIKE KATHY TILSLEY WANT THEIR TREE UP BEFORE THANKSGIVING. WE ARE ALMOST ON THE VERGE OF SELLING MORE TREES IN NOVEMBER THAN DECEMBER. WOW. 40 YEARS AGO, WE DIDN’T EVEN OPEN UNTIL THE FIRST WEEKEND IN DECEMBER. NOW WE’RE PROBABLY SELLING HALF OUR TREES BY THAT TIME. THE TREE WILL BE THERE AND THEY’LL DO THEIR OOHS AND AHS BECAUSE THE KIDS DECORATE IT AND THEY WILL ASK WHERE WE GOT THE TREE AND WE’LL TELL THEM, YOU KNOW, WE GOT IT HERE AT HOZAC PITTSBURGHERS, CHOOSING TO TAKE THE HAYRIDE OUT TO THE FIELDS TO CUT DOWN THEIR OWN HAIR OUTNUMBER THOSE WHO LIKE A PRECUT TREE BY 4 TO 1. NO, NOT THAT ONE. TERRY AND IRIS MCGAVOCK HUNT FOR THE BEST ONE. THAT DON’T LOOK BAD. THEY GOT A LITTLE BIT OF A THING, BUT WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO? YOU KNOW, SUCCESS. TIMBER. GET OUT OF OUR SUCCESS. ONCE YOU DO FIND YOUR PERFECT TREE, HERE’S HOW TO KEEP IT LASTING THROUGH. DECEMBER 25TH AND BEYOND. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO TELL PEOPLE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, YOU GET IT THAT EARLY. KEEP IT AWAY FROM YOUR FURNACE, YOUR REGISTERS, EVEN KEEP IT OUT OF THE SUN. IF YOU CAN KEEP THE YOU KNOW, IF YOU PUT IT IN THE WINDOW, YOU KNOW, PUT IT OPEN UP THE DRAPES AT NIGHT. BUT THE SUN, YOU KNOW, THE SUN WILL INSIDE, DRIES THEM OUT. THESE TREES, THE TREES, WE DON’T SELL HERE. WE COULD THROW OVER THE HILL AND THEY’LL STILL GREEN TILL MARCH. THEY STILL LOOK GOOD IN MARCH. IT’S THE INDOOR HEAT THAT DRIVES THE HEAT. SOME FAMILIES WILL GET A TREE AND NOT PUT IT UP INSIDE FOR TEN DAYS. SO IS THAT OKAY? YEAH. KEEP IT OUTSIDE. KEEP IT ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE HOUSE IN A BUCKET OF THE WATER, OUT OF THE SUN. OUT OF THE WIND. YOU KNOW, IN THE GARAGE IS FINE. AND WHEN YOU DO TAKE IT INDOORS, DON’T LET THE WATER LOSE CONTACT WITH THE TRUNK OF THE TREE. THAT’S ALWAYS IMPORTANT. PEOPLE SAY, OH, YEAH, IT’S REAL LOW. WELL, ONCE IT LOSES CONTACT, IT’S GOING TO START SKINNING OVER. THE SUGARS ARE GOING TO START HARDENING. OBVIOUSLY, YOU ALWAYS HEAR THE, YOU KNOW, NICE FRESH CUT. WHEN YOU GET IT HOME, PEOPLE WILL CUT YOUR OWN HAIR. THEY PUT IT ON TOP OF THE CAR. IT GOES DOWN THE ROAD AND THAT TRUNK TRUNKS GOING INTO THE WIND. GUESS WHAT? THOSE SUGARS ARE ALL HARDENING AS YOU GO. SO IF YOU CAN MAKE ANOTHER FRESH CUT. WHILE HOZAC SAYS THEIR PRICES HAVE GONE UP 3 TO $4 A TREE DUE TO FREIGHT COSTS AND EMPLOYEE RAISES, THERE’S ONE TREE YOU CAN GET FOR 35 BUCKS LESS THAN A SPRUCE OR A FIR A WHITE PINE IS 50 BUCKS. TAKE CARE. THANKS AGAIN. NICE TO MEET YOU GUYS. MARTIN KOZAK SAYS IT TAKES EIGHT YEARS FOR A CHRISTMAS TREE TO REALLY REACH MATURITY. HE SAYS THE DROUGHT WAY OUT ON THE WEST COAST WILL MEAN FEWER TREES ON THE WEST COAST IN ABOUT FOUR YEARS. BU
What to know before buying a live Christmas tree this year
Updated: 6:30 PM EST Nov 24, 2023
Taking the drive to Hozak Farms in Beaver County, you can see with your own eyes the inventory for this year and into the future. Martin Hozak plants 5,000 to 7,000 seedlings every year. When asked if the farm is facing a shortage this year like some on the East Coast, Hozak said, “No, no, we’re good. We’ve been planting pretty heavy for the past few years, so we’re all good.” The Hozak Farm has been around since 1936. But in 1949, his dad was away at college.”He read an article, you can make three dollars on a tree: Plant a seedling, X number of years later, you get three bucks,” Hozak said. “So he called his dad back here, my grandfather. He said, Get some trees in the ground, get rid of those chickens and pigs that they already had. So 1949 was our first planting.”Choosing the right treeThe Fraser fir has exploded in popularity. Hozak explained why: “They hold their needles for forever, they’re fairly fast growing, they have straight trunks. But mainly, the length of time. And they’re soft and easy to decorate.” My family’s favorite? The concolor fir. We get one every year.”Smells like tangerines — I love that smell!” Hozak said of the concolor.If you have cats, the blue spruce may be a good choice for you. Hozak says they’re less likely to climb one of these trees.”People are still wacko for blue spruce because they hold Grandma’s old ornaments — you have the stiff branches. I still think it’s the prettiest tree out there,” Hozak said. However, “when you’re done decorating a blue spruce, you’re bleeding in your fingers, and the needles are on the ground. They don’t hold their needles the greatest. You get maybe a month out of the Blue Spruce.”When to buy? How to buy? “We are almost on the verge of selling more trees in November than December,” Hozak told us. “Forty years ago, we didn’t even open until the first weekend in December. Now, we’re probably selling half our trees by that time.”People like Kathy Silsley want their tree up before Thanksgiving for friends and family who are visiting. “The tree will be there, and they’ll do their ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ because the kids decorated it. They’ll ask where we got the tree, and we’ll tell them we got it here at Hozak’s.”Pittsburghers choosing to take the hayride out to the fields to cut down their own here outnumber those who like a pre-cut tree by four to one.In the video above, we follow two tree-shoppers as they search for the best one to take home.Making your purchase lastOnce you do find your perfect tree, here’s how to keep it lasting through Dec. 25 and beyond.Hozak says for those buying a tree in November, “Keep it away from your furnace, your registers, even keep it out of the sun. If you put it by the window, open up the drapes at night.”Inside heat really dries up your tree. In fact, he said, “These trees that we don’t sell, we throw over the hill and they’ll stay green until March. … It’s the indoor heat.”Some families will get a tree and not put it up inside for over a week. Hozak recommends, in that case, keeping the tree outside on the north side of your house, in a garage or someplace similar, placing the trunk in a bucket of water. Just remember: “Out of the sun, out of the wind.”And when you do take it indoors, he says that you shouldn’t let the water lose contact with the trunk of the tree: “That’s always important. People always say, Oh yeah, it’s real low. Well, once it loses contact, it’s going to start skinning over. The sugars are going to start hardening.”The tree you cut down may be fresh while it’s at the farm, but the trip home may be hard on your new buy. “People who cut their own (tree) here, they put it on top of the car, it goes down the road, and that trunk’s going into the wind,” Hozak said. “Guess what? Those sugars are all hardening as you go.”His recommendation? Make another fresh cut on the trunk once you’re home.The holiday market in 2023 and beyondWhile Hozak says their prices have gone up $3 to $4 a tree this year due to freight costs and employee raises, there’s one tree you can get for $35 less than a spruce or a fir: a white pine at $50.Hozak says it takes eight years for a Christmas tree to reach maturity. The drought on the West Coast will mean fewer trees there in about four years — but for Pittsburgh-area farms, there will still be plenty around for decking the halls.
Taking the drive to Hozak Farms in Beaver County, you can see with your own eyes the inventory for this year and into the future.
Martin Hozak plants 5,000 to 7,000 seedlings every year. When asked if the farm is facing a shortage this year like some on the East Coast, Hozak said, “No, no, we’re good. We’ve been planting pretty heavy for the past few years, so we’re all good.”
The Hozak Farm has been around since 1936. But in 1949, his dad was away at college.
“He read an article, you can make three dollars on a tree: Plant a seedling, X number of years later, you get three bucks,” Hozak said. “So he called his dad back here, my grandfather. He said, Get some trees in the ground, get rid of those chickens and pigs that they already had. So 1949 was our first planting.”
Choosing the right tree
The Fraser fir has exploded in popularity. Hozak explained why: “They hold their needles for forever, they’re fairly fast growing, they have straight trunks. But mainly, the length of time. And they’re soft and easy to decorate.”
My family’s favorite? The concolor fir. We get one every year.
“Smells like tangerines — I love that smell!” Hozak said of the concolor.
If you have cats, the blue spruce may be a good choice for you. Hozak says they’re less likely to climb one of these trees.
“People are still wacko for blue spruce because they hold Grandma’s old ornaments — you have the stiff branches. I still think it’s the prettiest tree out there,” Hozak said. However, “when you’re done decorating a blue spruce, you’re bleeding in your fingers, and the needles are on the ground. They don’t hold their needles the greatest. You get maybe a month out of the Blue Spruce.”
When to buy? How to buy?
“We are almost on the verge of selling more trees in November than December,” Hozak told us. “Forty years ago, we didn’t even open until the first weekend in December. Now, we’re probably selling half our trees by that time.”
People like Kathy Silsley want their tree up before Thanksgiving for friends and family who are visiting. “The tree will be there, and they’ll do their ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ because the kids decorated it. They’ll ask where we got the tree, and we’ll tell them we got it here at Hozak’s.”
Pittsburghers choosing to take the hayride out to the fields to cut down their own here outnumber those who like a pre-cut tree by four to one.
In the video above, we follow two tree-shoppers as they search for the best one to take home.
Making your purchase last
Once you do find your perfect tree, here’s how to keep it lasting through Dec. 25 and beyond.
Hozak says for those buying a tree in November, “Keep it away from your furnace, your registers, even keep it out of the sun. If you put it by the window, open up the drapes at night.”
Inside heat really dries up your tree. In fact, he said, “These trees that we don’t sell, we throw over the hill and they’ll stay green until March. … It’s the indoor heat.”
Some families will get a tree and not put it up inside for over a week. Hozak recommends, in that case, keeping the tree outside on the north side of your house, in a garage or someplace similar, placing the trunk in a bucket of water. Just remember: “Out of the sun, out of the wind.”
And when you do take it indoors, he says that you shouldn’t let the water lose contact with the trunk of the tree: “That’s always important. People always say, Oh yeah, it’s real low. Well, once it loses contact, it’s going to start skinning over. The sugars are going to start hardening.”
The tree you cut down may be fresh while it’s at the farm, but the trip home may be hard on your new buy. “People who cut their own (tree) here, they put it on top of the car, it goes down the road, and that trunk’s going into the wind,” Hozak said. “Guess what? Those sugars are all hardening as you go.”
His recommendation? Make another fresh cut on the trunk once you’re home.
The holiday market in 2023 and beyond
While Hozak says their prices have gone up $3 to $4 a tree this year due to freight costs and employee raises, there’s one tree you can get for $35 less than a spruce or a fir: a white pine at $50.
Hozak says it takes eight years for a Christmas tree to reach maturity. The drought on the West Coast will mean fewer trees there in about four years — but for Pittsburgh-area farms, there will still be plenty around for decking the halls.
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