Cool, Wet Summer Helped Indiana's Christmas Trees

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Indiana's cool, wet summer was just what the tree doctor ordered for the state's Christmas tree farms still smarting from a devastating drought.

Purdue University wood products specialist Dan Cassens says last summer's weather was perfect for evergreen trees following 2012's record drought and heat that killed many Indiana evergreen trees.

Cassens, who owns a tree farm in West Lafayette, says the strongest trees survived that drought. And he says this year's cool, wet summer allowed those surviving trees to grow "beautifully."

Cassens says fir trees and Scotch pine are the most common Christmas tree species in Indiana. They're also the longest lasting trees when used indoors by people who often put up their Christmas tree shortly after Thanksgiving and keep it until after New Year's Day.