HARTFORD, Conn. — While Mother Nature and the lingering effects of recession created challenges for some New England Christmas tree growers and retailers this year, many experienced an early, brisk business, driven in part by growing demand for an all-natural holiday.

James Horst, executive director of the New Hampshire-Vermont Christmas Tree Association, which represents about 200 primarily wholesale growers in the two states, said it was a good year for the industry.

“We had quite a few calls from customers that weren’t previous customers that were looking for trees,” said Horst, who has 60,000 to 70,000 trees on a farm in Bennington, Vt. Horst believes most, if not all, wholesale tree growers sold out their crops this year.

Stephen Higgins, president of the Maine Christmas Tree Association, said it was a “seller’s market” this year. Tree shortages in parts of the Midwest and South, created in part by growers who scaled back on plantings after losing business during the recession, had buyers seeking trees in New England and Canada. Considering it can take eight to 10 years to grow a Christmas tree, that contributed to a tighter supply.

Some choose-and-cut farms in New England had to close early because they ran out of trees this year.

That part of the industry has been growing, Horst said, because cut-your-own Christmas tree farms have become part of the push for natural and organic products, which “includes a fresh Christmas tree and the experience of going to a farm.”