There are six different types of saplings measuring small to extra-large, and, of course, this year’s crop of Christmas trees is priced accordingly just like he learned from his father and his Uncle Stan 40 years ago.
The Duplaga family sold Christmas trees from the former Swing Club’s parking lot along National Road in Fulton for decades until Chris Duplaga moved the outdoor showroom to his Top Notch Landscaping location along Peninsula Street several years ago. In the past week, Duplaga and his crews have unloaded hundreds that are between three- and 12 feet tall that were grown on farms in Ohio and North Carolina.
“This year’s trees are better than what we’ve seen for a few years,” Duplaga said. “And the prices have stayed pretty much the same as last year. We did see a big increase just a few years ago and we were as surprised as anyone, trust me.
“The farms we deal with are the same ones we’ve had relationships with for a lot of years, and they do grow them in a rotation. The tree that you’ll have in your living room this Christmas didn’t just grow in a year. It takes a few years, and we know prices have gone up for everything.”
Chris often joined his older brother Mike in the Swing Club lots during their grade school and high school days, and during those years the Duplagas would deliver the saplings. That remains an option today, but of course, timing depends on staffing.
“We get a lot of our employees from our Visa programs with the government, and those guys will be heading home soon so they can be with their family during the holidays. But we have several others who are here year-round and they will do everything they can to get out customers their trees in a timely manner.
“This business has changed a lot through the years, but the kids who come with their parents are still as excited as ever. It’s a lot of fun to watch each year,” Duplaga said. “You just watch them walk around our lot and they think every tree is great because it’s that time of year. And we get a really nice variety here so there’s something for every family.”
The tree lot also features grave spays of all sizes, and pine garland is available, as well.
“The one thing I can tell people before they come to see what we have this year is that our selection is much better than what we’ve seen. The trees are healthy and stronger, that’s for sure,” Duplaga explained. “And we have everything from the baby trees to the giant ones so it’s really up to the people as far as what they want to take home.”
“We love being able to do this, and yeah, it brings back a lot of memories for me because it seemed like back then we would see everyone we knew from Wheeling,” he remembered. “And a lot of people we went to school to school with would come with their parents, and a lot of parents bring their kids with them now.”
The Top Notch tree lot on Peninsula Street is open seven days per week right now, including 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. during the week and from 9 a.m. until 8 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
“We’ll keep those hours while we have the trees, and I do expect another shipment or two before it’s all said and done,” Duplaga said. “Once people found out we were open, the traffic of folks has been pretty steady, and it’ll stay that way for a few weeks. We’ve had people come pretty close to Christmas, but that’s OK with us.
“We have six different kinds of trees so our customers have the options, but also because we’ve had people ask us to bring in certain kinds of trees,” he added. “No matter what they select, we get it wrapped for them and get it tied down to their cars so they can get the tree home as safely as possible.”
