Big Christmas tree crop for Rye grower despite summer drought
One of the Rye area’s longest established Christmas tree growers is promising a top-quality harvest for the second year in a row.
While some Christmas tree growers in southern England have reported significant losses following this year's prolonged dry conditions plus some late frosts, the Hole Park Estate in Rolvenden, near Rye, says it is preparing for another strong season.
The estate’s plantations, established in the mid-1960s, have held up remarkably well with very few trees lost and exceptional quality in those being harvested from this week, said a spokesperson. The estate's Norway Spruce was named runner-up in its category of the British Christmas Tree Growers Association (BCTGA) National Awards 2026.
Hole Park owner Edward Barham said: "There has been understandable concern about the impact of the Summer drought on this year’s Christmas tree crop, but we've been fortunate that our location in the Weald has worked very much in our favour.
"Our heavy clay soils held on to moisture remarkably well and the trees have responded brilliantly. Whilst we have lost a few saplings planted this year which had insufficiently well-established root systems, and have had to water young trees, we have seen very little drought-related damage to established trees and the overall quality of this year's crop is outstanding with excellent colour.
"To have one of our trees recognised in the national Christmas tree awards just a few weeks before the selling season begins us a wonderful endorsement of the care and attention that goes into our plantations throughout the year. We've been growing Christmas trees at Hole Park for more than 60 years and, honestly, this year's crop is among the very best I can remember."
Hole Park's Christmas tree plantations cover around 100 acres of the estate, with up to 20,000 young trees planted each year and around 16,000 harvested annually.