“I never met a tree I didn’t like,” said Joseph Tagleri, owner of the seasonal Tree Barn, located at 528 Willow Ave. in Hoboken.
Tagleri has been delivering Christmas trees to the city’s masses for more than 20 years.
“I started selling trees out of my basement and I got the fever,” said Tagleri last week. “Since then, I must have sold about 25,000 trees.”
Tagleri offers a wide selection of species and sizes, from little Charlie Brown trees to 16-footers. He sells trees ranging from short-needled ones to true fir species including Douglas firs, which come from western North America; white spruces, from the northern U.S. and Canada; and native balsam and Fraser firs from the southern Appalachians.
“Everybody wants the Frasers this year,” said Tagleri. “Frasers are the ones with the silvery, iridescent-like colored needles.”
But don’t go to the Tree Barn just to pick up a Christmas tree. The yard offers a full assortment of stands, lights, grave blankets and wreaths.
“We have wreaths as small as 12 inches to big 48-inch ones,” said Tagleri.
But one of the best deals at the store is that they offer free delivery throughout Hoboken and Weehawken, so you don’t have to lug the oversized, sappy evergreens around town.
As an added incentive to visit the store, there’s a special guest on Sundays – Santa Claus visits the Barn from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
“We want to sell you more than just a bush, you know,” said Tagleri.
Live Christmas trees have been brought into homes and decorated during the holiday season for more than 500 years. Each year, more than 33 million live Christmas trees are used in households across the United States. Incidentally, it takes five to 12 years to grow a Christmas tree, and for each tree harvested, two or three seedlings will be planted. So don’t feel bad about taking the time to find the perfect tree, because it probably took about a decade for it reach the tree yard.
The Tree Barn accepts cash and major credit cards. They’re open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekends. Trees range from $10 to $125. The store will be open on Christmas Eve, which is Sunday, Dec. 24.