Hensler Nursery

Hamlet, Indiana · Starke County

Opens Nov 21

Opens November 21.

Hensler is a working nursery in Starke County that turns over to Christmas for a month, and it sits within easy reach of Plymouth, Valparaiso, LaPorte, South Bend and Bremen — which is why so much of northern Indiana ends up here. Fraser fir, Scotch pine and white pine grow on the farm, and the season runs daily nine to five Central through December 21, with a quiet early-bird pair of days on November 19 and 20 before the crowds.

There are two places to cut. The main nursery is one, and a reserve field about five minutes down the road is the other — Fraser firs six to ten feet, some of them specially priced — and you can visit either or both. The Christmas barn handles the rest of the trip: Santa and Mrs. Claus, greenery, food vendors and things for the kids to do while a tree gets baled.

The facts

Cut-your-own Fraser firs and Scotch pines; pre-cut too
Open daily 9–5 Central through December 21, with early-bird days November 19 and 20. The second cutting field, five minutes down the road, opens on weekends.
Also at the farm: Christmas barn, Santa & Mrs. Claus, food vendors, kids' activities
Opening day: November 21

Checked Sep 4 against the farm's own site · farm website

What's open this weekend in Indiana →

All Indiana farms, by region →

Christmas tree disposal and recycling in Indiana

The other end of the same trip: when the tree comes down in January, disposal and recycling are a city job and the rules change at the city line — here is who takes it in Indianapolis — or Christmas tree disposal in every city we cover →

How do I dispose of a Christmas tree in Indiana?: Not at the farm — getting rid of a tree is a city service, and the rules change at the city line. We read the tree collection page for 1 city in Indiana, linked just above: each one says whether the tree goes out for curbside pickup or to a drop-off site, and what has to come off it before it does.
Is there Christmas tree recycling in Indiana?: The one city we cover in Indiana says on its own page what becomes of a collected tree, and our page quotes that sentence. Where a city doesn't say, we don't say it either.
Who handles Christmas tree removal once the season is over?: The city, or the county authority that runs collection for it — that is the body every page in that January list is read from, and the only one that can tell you when it is running. Private haulers will take a tree away as well; they are not on this site, because we only write down what a city puts in writing itself.