FaQaA
(Frequently asked Questions and Answers)
Do you work with businesses? We don't deliver trees early, because trees can't be inside longer. If you want trees for an outside location we can deliver waay early. We deliver trees up to 20' tall for up to $1,500.
Are you a bunch of tree hugging environmentalists? A cut tree is like a cut flower- grown as a crop (not a forest issue). Cut trees are good for the environment because millions are planted and cleaning the air because of Christmas and because most cut trees are chipped up after Christmas, turned into mulch. Potted trees are best for the environment because they are grown for Christmas then clean the air for hundreds of years after being planted. Besides being best for the environment a live tree is has a presence, like houseplants are good for the soul. We might not turn Christmas into a tree planting holiday where millions of trees are grown and planted to counter air pollution (climate change / global warming) but ones Christmas tree planted each year is good for goodness sake and cleans ones own share of pollution.
I don't get your business model, can you explain more please? We buy rent and sell trees. Part of our clients payment for their Christmas trees goes toward 'sponsoring' the price of their tree to it's planter. Sponsoring means their tree is never used as a Christmas tree again and the planter gets a deal on it. The $10 we sell the Christmas trees for after Christmas is less than half of what we bought them for. And we buy them in quantity from the country at less than wholesale. So if a landscaper has a job that needs trees, instead of buying them in the country from a tree wholesaler for around 35 dollars, ten bucks is a deal! We're the original and only 'sponsor a Christmas tree'. There seems to be less than 20 'rent-a-tree' services worldwide. They use the potted trees as Christmas trees over and over, year to year, as the tree gets less healthy, not planted. 'Rent a Christmas tree' businesses seem to be wholesale or retail plant nurseries. They charge around $150- just for delivery and pickup. We charge from 70 to 90$. We buy trees, we don't grow them, so we have more costs. And the trees we buy get planted each year so we buy trees every year, not reuse them. We don't want to give away the trees to planters for free because the trees are worth $35, and we'd have to raise the price $10 to Christmas tree clients.
Can I get a tree early? We deliver trees as early as the day after Thanksgiving for trees that will be displayed outside (at least till 12/15). If you're putting your tree outside at your house you can have it early (yup, a Christmas tree on the porch). If it's outside, like on a deck, patio or porch, outside is natural for a tree so you can have it longer. If you have it outside early you can slide it inside on 12/15. The trees can´t be inside more than 18 days, (mainly due to dry air).
I live in an apartment / condo building with a shared secure main door. Can I still get a tree delivered? Yes, on the order form please write us some notes about the logistics. Like let us know that we will have to either leave it outside or in the lobby or call you etc. There'd probably be a fee.
What's the most aromatic, (best smelling) tree we offer? (Of course they all have their aromatic qualities.) The Sequoia is most aromatic (but it doesn't take any ornaments or lights on all but the inner branches). Balsams seem to be more aromatic than average. Any tree you get can 'smell' more if you pinch a few needles in half each day.
Which tree is most like a Noble? The Nordmann fir is most like a Noble fir. We don't offer Nobles because they don't transplant well.
Can I pick out my specific tree? Maybe in future years, if you get your tree in your vehicle. It's not practical for delivery.
Can I see a tree in person? Most years we have trees on display in public areas like at grocery stores so you could contact us to ask where you could go to see an example tree.
What does your company do that's good for the environment? We use hybrid cars to go to the country to select trees (car share biz, Zipcar.com). We make a trip to the Metro transfer station (dump) in the NW industrial area each year to recycle the plastic bags, and plastic pots that we are no longer able to use.
Can you help me move it inside my home? To keep the price as low as possible, we don't offer that service. We suggest getting a 6´ tree to make it easier to move. The 6´ trees weigh around 70 pounds. You don't need to lift it, just slide it like a laundry basket.
What if I want to keep my tree and plant it myself? Please email us so we won´t come by your house after New Years to pick up your tree. Then see the planting recommendations on our website Buyer / Planter page. You do not have to return the pot to us. Also, please mail us a check, or figure out how to use PayPal, for $20, which covers the cost of the pot and to cover the price of the tree we would have sold to a planter.
How are the costs of the trees determined? The main reason we charge $75 - $90 for a Christmas tree is delivery. We rent big trucks that get 8 miles a gallon and have three truckers to move heavy trees. We also pay a lot more for trees to be dug up rather than chainsawed. We also pick the trees up after the Holidays and we have a website and we buy bags and pots for each tree and we spend a lot of time finding buyer / planters for the trees. We do sell the trees for $10 each after New years but that's because the trees have value to buyer / planters. If we gave them away people would think live Christmas trees have no value as trees for planting, and we'd have to charge our Christmas tree clients $10 more. We deliver and pick up our trees because live trees with their roots in pots are not convenient enough for folks to transport themselves. We hope that you feel good about your $75- $90 Christmas tree payment going into the local economy; (Uhaul, employees, website, pots, bags, cloth, Kinkos and keeping the owner from working at a um crappy job). A similar service in San Diego charges around $150, (adoptachristmastree.com).
Is there any other service that does this as well? We're the original and only such service in the world. Other companies rent trees, and reuse them in future Christmases, instead of all the trees getting planted. All the trees we offer as Christmas trees are planted the following spring in watersheds to grow old. Other potted Christmas tree companies donate or sell a few of their trees to be planted. The most similar company is a non-profit in San Francisco but they don't offer evergreen trees, they offer nontraditional trees like magnolias, but all of em get planted, they credit us as their inspiration- fuf.net.
Why are there only a certain number of trees available? The number of trees is based on the number of buyer/planters that agree to buy and plant our clients Christmas trees after New Years. We make sure every tree has arranged to be planted before offering them as Christmas trees. If parks departments, landscapers, conservation groups, etc only order to buy and plant 300 trees, then only 300 can go to Portlanders for Christmas trees. So contact your local parks department and get them to buy your tree and other of our clients trees ($10 each) and plant them in your local park! Email us to get a list of public planters to email.
How can I have a living Christmas tree if I live outside of Portland? We offer information on how anyone anywhere can conveniently have a potted tree on the Outside Portland page of this website.
Can I drop off my living Christmas tree if i didn't get it from TOLCTC? Yes, please contact us and we will arrange a day in the first week of January when you can drop your tree off for the planters.
Are your trees organic? We try to be as ecologically responsible as possible. One tree field we are buying 200 trees from this year hasn't sprayed to kill weeds in years. Because we buy our trees from a variety of tree growers, we don´t grow trees ourself, the best we can do is work towards the organic goal. Of course we´ll share that info when we make that breakthrough. We hear there's a similar service in Portland that copied us and they offer only organic trees.
I´m on a very low budget and although I love your idea and understand why they cost more, can I get a lower price possibly please if that's not too much to ask? Just volunteer for us and we'll knock bucks off. Every year we donate a few trees to worthy causes.
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