Ergle Christmas Tree Farm Allows Families To Cut Their Own Tree

DADE CITY, FL — Anyone who thinks there are no Christmas tree farms in Florida hasn't met Debbie and Tom Harris.

The Harrises are the owners of the 25-acre Ergle Christmas Tree farm at 3325 Treiman Blvd. in Dade City where they grow and sell true Florida Christmas trees — Southern pines and Southern red cedars.

Those are the only evergreen Christmas trees that grow well in Florida. In the days before artificial trees were available, a Southern pine or red cedar graced most Florida homes at Christmastime.

"When I was growing up, they were the only Christmas trees we ever had," Debbie Harris said.

Debbie Harris learned all about growing Florida Christmas trees from her father, Omar Ergle, an agriculture teacher in Dade City who founded the original Ergle Christmas Tree Farm in the 1970s.

Her father's Christmas tree farm eventually became one of the largest in central Florida, although Ergle didn't originally plan to grow Christmas trees.

Debbie Harris said her father was trying to establish an orange grove and decided to plant red cedars along his property lines to shield the orange trees from the cold weather.

The strategy didn't work. Ergle lost the orange grove to a freeze but the red cedars flourished.

He decided to devote his entire property to growing Southern pines and red cedars so families could cut their own Christmas trees during the holidays.

Debbie Harris took over the family business 35 years ago.

"My brother is an environmental engineer and had no interest in operating a Christmas tree farm but my dad passed on his knowledge and love of growing trees to me," Harris said.

The Harrises have provided Christmas trees for two governors, Gov. Lawton Chiles and Gov. Jeb Bush, and have watched three generations of children visit their farm to choose and cut their own Christmas trees.

"We have a few families that have made it a tradition. They come every year and bring a picnic," Harris said. "We watched them come as kids and now they're bringing their grandchildren."

Debbie Harris said seeing the excitement of the children as they choose a Christmas tree is the highlight of the business, which can be tough the remainder of the year.

It takes three to six years to grow a well-shaped tree that is 6 to 8 feet tall.

"The value of land in Florida is too high to devote to a crop that takes five years to mature," she said. "I think that's why there aren't many Christmas tree farms around anymore."

Another factor is the fact that all their sales occur in a tight window between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Nevertheless, Debbie Harris said there's always a big demand for their Christmas trees. Some years they've run out of trees well before Christmas.

To supplement the tree selection, the Harrises built a 20,000-square-foot shade house they fill with about 1,000 evergreen trees, including Douglas and Fraser firs, that are trucked in from North Carolina and Michigan.

Even with the imported trees, Harris said they've run out of trees a week before Christmas the past two years.

"People still love the touch and smell of a real Christmas tree in their homes," she said.

The uncut trees are priced at $6 a foot up to 9 feet and $7 a foot for trees above 9 feet. Prices of cut trees vary. Debbie Harris also sells wreaths she makes herself priced from $20 to $45.

The Ergle Christmas Tree Farm is open daily from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. until Dec. 22.

For more information and for directions, visit the Ergle Christmas Tree Farm website.