King’s Christmas Trees plants new roots at Quaker Meadows

An early sign of Christmas in Burke County occurred on Saturday, Oct. 26: The first post was placed for the grid to hold thousands of evergreens at King’s Christmas Trees on North Green Street in Morganton.

For 44 seasons, King’s Christmas Trees has supplied Burke and surrounding counties with Christmas trees, wreaths, roping, garlands, tree stands, and bows.

Those who like to decorate for Yuletide before Thanksgiving are in luck. The tree lot is scheduled to open Nov. 16 with the yearly tradition of hot cider and cookies being available for customers while they are shopping.

Just remember to look right, not left, when driving north on N.C. 181. Owner Jeff King has moved the lot across the street, occupying two acres at Quaker Meadows.

The waters from the Catawba River flooded the area during Hurricane Helene.

“We had to redo our parking lot — it was washed away. The grass is coming back up now,” King said. Damages to his businesses totaled nearly $5,000.

The parking lot wasn’t his only business casualty, however.

King said he lost 30 bee hives and over 200 boxes, and the farm in Minneapolis that supplies his root-ball trees was destroyed. Often called duck trees or ball-and-burlap trees, these are the type of Christmas trees you plant in the ground

“The guy that I get them from lost both farms. Items up there on the mountain are more susceptible to flooding, and ours were up on the hill,” King said. According to King, the farm in the Minneapolis community of Avery County had nearly 200 root ball trees.

On the other hand, the 3,000 Christmas trees for this year’s inventory in Avery County sustained no damage. King’s Christmas tree selection will range from 3-foot tabletop to 12-foot towering trees.

“Out of all of my cut trees that were used for the cut block, I didn’t find a single tree broken,” King said.

When asked about the new location, King believes it will be better for business because of its improved visibility and accessibility.

“It’s a better view and way better parking. Everybody’s going to be able to find us. The traffic count now is up. Every year it’s a little more traffic on the highway to deal with, but access is really better,” King said. “We’re blessed to have that. It’s a challenge to get it set up because it’s so big.”

King said the grid for the trees will be the same size as the previous location, but there will be over 100 parking spaces at the new site.

“We have concrete and asphalt now,” King said about the space used for parking. “Finally, I have the parking lot painted and marked for car spaces.”

Hurricane Helene may have devastated King’s supply of root-ball trees, but the economy typically has little impact on Christmas Tree sales. According to King, when the economy is slow, fewer people travel for the holidays, staying home to decorate, which leads to more sales.

“Fortunately, the economy doesn’t affect Christmas tree sales a whole lot,” King said.

King expressed his gratitude for the community support he’s received over the years.

“I appreciate them so much. We’re into the fourth generation of families. ... I’ve got grandparents, kids, great-grands, and they keep coming back year after year,” King said. “There’s nothing like the friendship. We’ve met a lot of people over the years that we know, not necessarily by name, but we know their faces.”

“You know, you rarely see unhappy people here for Christmas trees. There’s always a Scrooge around, but it’s a happy, happy business,” King said.

The business offers local delivery, beginning at $15, going as far as Charlotte.