From Christmas Trees to Poinsettias, Lethbridge Stores Experience Shipping Delays – Lethbridge | The Canadian News

If you are looking to buy a real Christmas tree this holiday season, you may have a tighter shopping window than in previous years.

Dustin Napper, a horticulturist at Green Haven Garden Center in Lethbridge, currently only has artificial trees in stock. Delivery of your royal trees from eastern Canada is expected to be one week later than normal due to shipping issues.

“We originally expected them to arrive this weekend, but there have been some logistical complications in the last few days, so hopefully they will be here next week,” Napper said.

The center typically orders around 600 trees for the season, and Napper expects many again this year.

“We have had a lot of people asking, so there is a lot of excitement for the arrival of the trees,” he said.

“We are doing everything possible to bring them here.”

The past week also brought disruptions for another holiday staple: poinsettias.

Since most of The Sill and Soil’s supply comes from the Abbotsford and Burnaby areas, shipments to the plant’s shop, as well as greenery to build wreaths, are delayed.

“We got our first email early last week saying there could be outages (there would be) and then on the day of our scheduled deliveries we got confirmation that things would not ship,” said store owner Hannah Lee .

But with the opening of Highway 3 from BC to essential travel, deliveries are expected to arrive soon.

“Hopefully (they’ll come) this week, we haven’t known if they’ll make it, but next week we’re pretty confident,” Lee added.

For those who want to take charge of Christmas decorating, there are free permits available in the province to harvest trees on designated crown lands.

Maps of those areas can be found on the province’s website and officials remind tree cutters that some areas of southern Alberta are under the jurisdiction of Alberta Parks.

“There are some areas near Lethbridge in Castle Wildland Provincial Park and Castle Provincial Park, but that’s a separate permit,” said Alberta Forest and Rural Economic Development Information Officer Wendy Machan.

Whether you’re shopping at the store or picking your own tree with an ax, it’s a good idea to plan ahead this year to ensure a merry Christmas.