Dart's Christmas Tree Farm Closing After Half Century in Business

Dart’s Christmas Tree Farm in Southold will be closing its doors for good this Christmas Eve, marking the end of an era for the beloved family destination — but its year-round tree farm remains.

The farm had set itself apart from the competition by combining the historic charm of the property with its “Magic Color Forest” that offered cut-your-own Fraser firs painted in pink, purple, white and blue.

“Christmas only comes once a year. You can’t sell Christmas trees all year long,” owner Ed Dart recently told Dan’s Papers of how the farm recently began growing Leyland cypress and Thuja Green Giants in the off-season. “We need to have revenue all year round. Privacy screening rounds out the year.”

Dart’s is one of 11 Christmas tree farms on Long Island where customers can chop down their own tree instead of buying a pre-cut tree — although the farms also offer precuts as an option for those who come just for the ambiance.

The closure of Dart’s Christmas Tree Farm comes after recent news that Shamrock Christmas Tree Farm in Mattituck announced that it was taking the 2023 season off due to a national Christmas tree shortage that resulted in their inability to secure pre-cut trees to round out sales this year. Shamrock expects to reopen next year.

Muller’s Tree Farm in Manorville also closed up shop in recent years and now is only open for photo shoots.