DES MOINES, Iowa — A Des Moines company is making Christmas “greener” by providing sustainable Christmas trees, and it may become a popular trend in the future because of drought impacts.

According to Iowa Christmas Tree Association President Bob Moulds, Iowa’s three-year drought will likely impact the supply of Christmas trees in the next three to four years. That’s because farmers lost seedlings.

Iowa still isn’t in the clear despite no longer having a drought. Moulds said many Christmas trees are still suffering from damage to their buds because of the drought. Therefore, it’ll take time for the trees to grow normally.

It takes an average of eight years for Christmas trees to reach optimal heights and sizes for holiday decoration so the three-year drought will have lingering effects on the supply.

That’s where QstN comes in. It is a sustainable solutions provider in the energy industry. Last year, it partnered with Bentley Ridge Tree Farm & Nursery to provide sustainable Christmas trees to people in the metro.

“We were looking at the existing options for Christmas trees. So, you could typically do a cut Christmas tree or people use an artificial tree. Both of these options, you eventually discard after some use,” said Josh Johnson of QstN.

Families can purchase a Christmas tree like normal, except it gets delivered in a pot. After the season is over, they can return the tree to the farm where it will be replanted and it’ll continue to grow.

According to Johnson, the program generates positive feedback from community members. This year, over 50 people ordered a sustainable Christmas tree.

Bentley Ridge Tree Farm and Nursery Sales Manager Jimmy Juergens said he advises people to water their tree with three-quarters of a gallon of water every five days. He also recommends keeping the tree away from heat sources to prevent it from drying out. If the tree is located near a window or another light source, he recommends rotating the tree halfway through its stay in your home so the other side of the tree can face sunlight.

When the tree is back at the farm, Juergens said they put it in a greenhouse to acclimatize the tree before replanting it outside. If all of the directions are followed, the tree will live. Within the last two years of the program, only one tree has died.

Johnson said some customers are requesting to have the same tree every year. While this option isn’t available yet, they are working to find a solution to provide the same tree every year to customers who request it.