Despite one of Maine’s driest summers and ongoing drought, growers say mature Christmas trees for the 2025 holiday season are healthy, though newly planted saplings saw higher mortality and required heavy irrigation. Farmers in Cornville, Wells, and Windham report extra watering, some losses, and earlier-than-usual needle shed on larger trees.

Research from the University of New Brunswick indicates that balsam fir trees are at risk due to climate change, with rising temperatures and drought conditions being key concerns.

The answer to the Tang-colored mystery involves tiny spruce needle rust fungus spores that also rely on Labrador tea plants to survive.

Unusually large cone crops may be the result of favorable variations in weather across several years.

Communities on the southern coastline of Kenai Peninsula have noticed changes to trees as a result of the aphid.