Blue Ridge partners with Hossler for Christmas trees

Rod Wert has been growing Christmas trees since 1986. He named his operation Blue Ridge Christmas Tree Farm as it was in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Pennsylvania.

Then he, his wife Jodi and their family moved 20 miles east to Annville. “We had a good market but it got too crowded. We had a farm surrounded by neighborhoods,” he said, and houses continued to pop up around them.

At their current 129-acre location, Wert has maintained what he likes best about growing Christmas trees: “Being outside at 6 in the morning, sheering trees, seeing deer, hearing birds. It’s nice and quiet.”

They sell Christmas trees for wholesale, retail and on site. They grow Fraser, Douglas and Concolor fir, white pine, blue and Norway spruce and a new kid on the block, Nordmann fir. “It’s very dark green. It’s the latest tree, very popular. It’s like a Fraser, but very dark,” Wert said. “It holds up very well but not as good as a Fraser. It has really shiny needles.” Nordmann is the most popular selling tree across Europe.

They also grow the Norway spruce, white pine and blue spruce for tree nurseries. Additionally, they grow and sell Green Giant arborvitae, commonly used as windbreaks and for privacy.

Wert is a member of the National Christmas Tree Association and Pennsylvania Christmas Tree Growers Association.

How many trees is he selling for the 2026 season? “We sold 2,500 trees each season originally. We’re down 2,000, more than enough for retail. We’re going more wholesale. It’s a lot of work. I’ve been doing this 40 years,” he said.

They will open their seasonal Christmas gift shop as usual, but probably for the last time. When Santa needs a rest, he has a multitude of elves to help. However, “we can’t find labor,” said Wert.

The solution? “I am teaching a young tree seller how to grow Christmas trees,” he said.

That young tree seller is Matt Hossler of Hossler Tree Farm in Annville, just two miles away, who will be selling Christmas trees for the first time this 2026 season, alongside his wife Melinda.

As the Hosslers planted their first trees in 2021, “the biggest trees he will sell are eight feet tall. He will sell out the first weekend,” explained Jodi Wert. “If people want bigger trees, he will send them to us.”

The Werts will continue their retail market and wholesale trees of all sizes. They will continue growing Christmas trees and spreading holiday joy through the U-cut experience. By working with and teaching Hossler, Rod has found a way to spread the joy.

Wert planted 5,000 trees this year at Blue Ridge Christmas Tree Farm and will continue to keep planting them.

While he enjoys seeing the deer, “Deer are always a problem. I don’t like shooting them,” he said. His solution? Spraying small trees with Deer Out®, which smells strongly of mint. “They won’t eat it,” said Wert.

With temperatures reaching over 102º during mid-July’s heat dome, Wert lost quite a few young trees from the heat. On the hillside facing south, the trees literally became sunburned.

Ever sustainable, their land that is not suitable for growing Christmas trees – about 50 acres – Wert has planted in corn, barley, wheat and hay. His son Tyler runs the hay business. Tyler’s wife, Melanie, has run the gift shop since the Werts reopened the shop about 10 years ago.

“I pop in when needed and work the second cash register,” said Jodi. “I’m usually outside decorating the wreaths” that they sell.

Last year, her granddaughter Clara learned to run the cash register. “She and her sister Charlotte are very big helpers,” said Jodi. “I have customers who call and ask us to pick out their tree. The girls like walking.” Sometimes their choice is close by; sometimes, it’s not. “Sometimes I feel like we are going for a two-mile walk. They are wonderful helpers.”

For more information, access blueridgetrees.com and hosslertreefarm.com.

by Laura Rodley