Choose and Cut Your Own Christmas Tree at Ergle Christmas Tree Farm in Dade City, Florida

Christmas time seems to come earlier and earlier each year. Once Halloween passes, Thanksgiving is soon upon us, and before we know it, we're baking Christmas cookies and mailing out Christmas cards. The most prominent symbol of the Christmas season though, has to be the Christmas tree. Millions of trees, real or artificial, pre-lit or pre-cut, are sold every Christmas season. Debbie and Tony Harris of Ergle Christmas Tree Farm in Dade City, Florida have been helping families of the Tampa Bay area choose and cut their very own Christmas tree for over two decades now.

Debbie Harris's father, Omar Ergle started his Christmas tree farm in 1980 after freezing weather destroyed his orange crops. Debbie and Tony helped Debbie's father tend the farm while learning the business themselves. Omar died in 1997, resulting in the closure of his Pasco County location, but Ergle Christmas Tree Farm's Dade City location, opened in 1986 by Debbie and Tony Harris continues to thrive, bringing generations of families back year after year to choose and cut their own fresh, Florida-grown Christmas tree. "We feel honored and appreciate the opportunity to provide 'our' families with the tree that will be placed in their homes and used to celebrate Christmas with their families," Debbie Harris said.

Ergle Christmas Tree Farm grows Sand Pine, Cedar, Deodora Cedar, Leyland Cypress, and Carolina Sapphire trees. Many of the trees they sell are potted, so customers can plant them in their yard after the holidays. They also bring in shipments of trees that won't grow in Florida, such as the Fraser Fir, Blue Spruce, Douglas Fir, Balsam Fir, Concolor Fir, White Pine, and Scotch Pine. In order to ensure they only sell the freshest trees, shipments come in once or twice per week throughout the season. All cut trees are kept in Ergle Farm's 30,000 sq. ft. of shade houses in water-filled stands.

Visiting a Christmas tree farm to choose and cut your own tree is a fun tradition that will build memories that children can carry on through future generations. Debbie and Tony Harris have welcomed many families back to Ergle Christmas Tree Farm throughout the years. "It is a wonderful business, and very rewarding seeing families return year after year as a part of their family tradition and celebration. Now, we are seeing the families grow as the previous children become young adults and bring their children," Debbie Harris says.

Ergle Christmas Tree Farm sells its choose-and-cut trees at $4 per foot, up to 8 feet tall. They have 26 acres of trees planted, with each acre containing 800-1000 trees. Debbie and Tony plant twice as many trees as they sell at Ergle Christmas Tree Farm each year to replenish their stock and help the environment. Christmas trees take about four years to grow to the average height of about 5-6'. Business picks up every year right around Thanksgiving and reaches its peak during the first couple of weeks of December. Even during these hectic times, Debbie and Tony enjoy the madness as much as the customers do.

Ergle Christmas Tree Farm is open through December 23, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., though they will make special arrangements for customers who need to come after hours and for a few families who traditionally like to cut down their tree on Christmas Eve to take home and decorate together. Debbie and Tony provide everything customers need to choose and cut their trees including saws and string and workers shake and net the tree. They also have a gift shop, a small animal petting farm, and sell Christmas cactus as well. Debbie and Tony have added you-pick blueberries to their Christmas tree farm, and they should be ready for their first harvest in the spring.

Customers who want a traditional family experience and a fresh tree that will last through the holidays should visit Debbie and Tony at Ergle Christmas Tree Farm in Dade City, Florida. "Families should consider turning their tree-buying experience into a family experience by going out and visiting a farm and cutting a tree with their friends and family members. There just are not enough opportunities to spend quality family time together. And there is nothing like the smell of a fresh tree in your home during the holidays," Debbie says.

Ergle Christmas Tree Farm is located at 3325 Treiman Boulevard, Highway 301, Dade City, Florida. Their phone number is (352) 583-3647. You can get more information from their website www.ergletrees.com.