ROBINSON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — The dry weather is creating some problems for West Michigan Christmas tree farmers now and could lead to headaches for the rest of us in a few years.
"We're having some mortality in the seedlings, the 1- to 2-year-old seedlings," said Paul Prince of Prince Trees in Ottawa County's Robinson Township.
The younger trees don't have fully developed root systems for reaching the deeper groundwater. As the soil closer to the surface dries out first, the little trees die.
Prince says he gets water to about half of his field with sprinklers and ground irrigation, but doesn't irrigate the other half. Without irrigation, he's losing some trees.
"In nonirrigated ground, we're about at 40 to 50 percent at this point," he said.