Britain branches out: Shoppers reject imported Christmas trees in favour of home-grown ones

And tree prices are down on last year because of it

It started as a European import when Queen Victoria's husband Prince Albert brought a Christmas tree from his native Germany in 1841 and put it up in Windsor Castle. And everyone knows about the 21m (69ft) Norwegian "gift" in Trafalgar Square. But now British shoppers are turning their back on imported Christmas trees and buying Scottish firs.

This weekend, a Christmas tree price war should cause buyers to break the £1bn spending barrier, with the total number of Christmas trees sold expected to soar past 6.5 million as shoppers scramble for deals.

Discount supermarket Aldi has sparked the price war by offering a Scottish-grown Nordman fir for £19.99, half the price of similar trees. More than 90 per cent of tree sales take place during the first two weekends of December and other retailers have been quick to try to match Aldi's offer.

Tree prices are down on last year, thanks to a boom in British – primarily Scottish – trees coming on to the market and reducing the reliance on imports from Denmark, Belgium and Sweden. Last year, we imported 7.6 million trees, a significant fall from 2012, when 9.7 million – including more than a million from Denmark alone – were imported.

Harry Brightwell, secretary of the British Christmas Tree Growers Association, said the UK is becoming more self-sufficient. "We're growing a lot more trees in Scotland," he said. "So there's a reduction in the amount of trees needed to be brought in from abroad."

As well as England and Scotland, Wales has emerged as a major tree producer. The Poundffald farm near Swansea, South Wales, has grown 350,000 trees this year, including one destined for 10 Downing Street.

Mr Brightwell still expects Denmark to play a major role, as investors are reluctant to fund developments in UK farms. He said: "When the pound was weak against the krone, it pushed the prices of trees up from abroad and people started buying locally. But people have been reluctant to invest in UK farms because of the risk involved. If you're growing for nine years and the weather affects the trees, they could be ruined."

For one husband-and-wife team in York, an unexpected event cost them up to £20,000 after vandals attacked 1,000 of their trees last week. Tim and Mandy Graves said the trees were planted seven years ago, but many had their tops cut off on Tuesday in a "malicious" attack. The couple said they thought the attack was "deliberate and targeted".

At least the preference is for real trees this winter: in the past few years we've seen black trees, corner trees and upside-down trees, none of which can beat the real thing. No one has told Victoria Beckham that, however. In a rare style misstep, her London boutique has an inverted fir, fashionable in 2012, on display.