The long heat, but above all the drought that has been recurring in recent years, could mean that Christmas trees in Hesse will become scarce in the next few years.

There will still be enough fir trees for this year's Christmas celebrations, says Holger Schneider, chairman of the Hessian Christmas tree working group at the Hessian Forest Owners' Association based in Friedrichsdorf.

Fir trees sprout once a year and grow in height and width in a limited time.

The trees would have completed this growth in July before the most recent heat wave.

Schneider looks at the young plants with greater concern.

Several plantation owners in Hesse have already reported widespread failures.

Fir trees actually have a deep-reaching taproot that grows vertically into the ground and draws water from deep layers of the soil.

This allows them to survive periods of drought.

However, new plantings with two-year-old seedlings, whose roots reach only 25 centimeters deep, die off because of the heat and dry up.

Schneider could not say exactly how many plantings failed.

However, he suspects that there could be a shortage of Christmas trees in around five years.

Christmas trees are usually harvested when they are eight to ten years old.

Older trees suffer too

Joachim Göbel, who runs the Wolfgang forest tree nursery in Hanau, observes something similar.

It must have been “very, very difficult” for his plantings, many of which have already died.

In addition, Göbel fears for the mature trees.

In contrast to deciduous trees, the firs would have defied the heat optically.

"You can't see how stressful they are," says Göbel.

They could shed needles in hot weather.

After the first year of drought in 2018, many Christmas tree growers were still confident because the supply would even out over the years.

In the meantime, Schneider's deputy in the working group, Andreas Groos, also sounds cautious.

Most of the trees belonging to the master gardener from Neu-Anspach find better conditions in the Taunus than anywhere else.

“But the first young plants are also dying here.” Colleagues who farm on sandy soil are hit much harder.

"Even sales sizes are dying there."

After the rain that had been announced failed to materialize again these days, Groos is looking forward to the next few months with concern.

Because in late summer and autumn the trees would have their main root growth.

"It's still too early for a final assessment," says Groos.

But if there is no rain into November and December, the damage will continue.

"It could be awesome in October."