Municipalities across the Barcelona metropolitan area are experiencing difficulties in sourcing trees for replanting, following a significant increase in demand after Catalonia's severe drought ended in April 2025. The drought, which lasted from February 2023, caused the death of 7,500 trees in Barcelona city alone.
After water restrictions were lifted, local councils placed numerous orders with Catalan nurseries to replace lost vegetation. Barcelona city had replaced 5,200 trees by late 2025 and approximately 7,000 by the end of April, accounting for about 93% of those lost, according to officials. However, the widespread need for new trees has created a supply bottleneck.
"We have supply problems; we are trying to buy but they are not supplying all that we ask for," Joan Carles Altamirano, director of public space for the Sant Martí district, told a neighbourhood council in early April. He explained that the council requested a large number of trees when the drought ended, but nurseries had also lost many of their own plants, and all councils were trying to buy trees simultaneously, leading to scarcity.
Nurseries Struggle with Demand and Planning
"There has been a problem of lack of stock for some varieties, and in some cases, they have run out," confirmed Miquel Marín, president of the Gardening Guild of Catalonia. He added that a "lack of planning" also contributes to the scarcity of certain tree types. "Nursery owners take a risk preparing species without any criteria other than their intuition," Marín explained. He noted that the planting season typically starts around October and ends in spring. "If I am commissioned a project in October, I will worry about locating 20 trees of a certain type, but currently, it is easy not to be able to get everything that is requested."
David Borda, president of the Federation of Nursery Farmers of Catalonia, pointed out that "there are seven or eight varieties that everyone is looking for at the moment." He inferred that "if everyone is looking for the same thing, there comes a point when there is no stock." Highly sought-after species include the Montpellier maple, hackberry, yew, and common maple. Borda described a "very large" escalation in council orders after the drought decree was lifted, with demand remaining strong this year and good forecasts for autumn and next year, partly due to it being an election year, which often means more maintenance work.
Complaints about stock shortages have been coming in "since January" from various localities, "especially from the Barcelona area," Borda said. He suggested that while certain varieties are missing, "if technicians are diligent and professional enough, there are others to substitute, and if not, they must wait six months for the next campaign."
Price Increases and Larger Calibre Shortages
Borda denied that the drought decimated the more than 200 plant-growing businesses in Catalonia. He argued that production levels are comparable to pre-drought figures. "There are trees, and whoever has planned has them. And whoever does not plan and wants to go for the prices of years ago will not find them. If a city has been left without planting, it is because it was late or because it did not have enough budget for what it was looking for, because plants are increasing in price due to rising costs."
According to several sources, the main shortage is in larger trunk sizes, specifically those with a diameter of 18 or 20 centimetres or more, which require several years of growth. "They have run out in many species, and in public works, trees with a 12-centimetre perimeter are not the same as larger ones," explained a technician from a gardening company. "That is the problem; we have to wait for them to grow. These are very vulnerable calibres, even if a child grabs the tree. There are types where 14 or 16 centimetres are already a problem, and we are increasingly reducing the size of what is chosen because, otherwise, it takes time. It is difficult to find hackberries of 18 to 20 centimetres. Well-formed and similar specimens are also sought, which is another difficulty."
Marín noted that "large perimeters are requested because they have a better appearance and to deal with vandalism." He explained that in their absence, administrations are offered a change of species or trunk thickness, which is not always accepted. "If a hackberry is wanted, one must settle for one of 16 to 18 centimetres. Usually, projects are not left unplanted; instead, another variety or a calibre just below the desired one is chosen."
Climate Change Drives New Demands
Borda added that, depending on varieties and calibres, stocks have been depleted, and it takes three, four, or five years to replenish them. He suggested that rather than the direct effects of the drought, nurseries have seen an increase in orders from cities because they "are obliged to change the type of trees due to heatwaves and pollution." He observed that "hackberries, holm oaks, Mediterranean trees are especially requested. These are varieties that have come to stay."
Climate change is also prompting councils in other European countries to buy heat-resistant species from Catalan nurseries. "They come to buy them because, in their countries, they can be worth double, and they do not produce as much there," Borda argued. "It is also hotter up there, and we have sold a lot to Holland, to Germany. They have moved faster than some here."
