Columbia Road is a flower market for fifty weeks of the year, and a Christmas tree market for the other two. From late November the buckets of stems make room for rows of Nordmann firs, the air turns to pine and citrus, and the street becomes one of the better-value places in London to buy a real tree. As with everything here, the trick is knowing which Sunday to turn up.
When the trees arrive
Trees start appearing on the stalls from the last Sunday of November and are in full swing across the first two Sundays of December. Wreaths, garlands, mistletoe, eucalyptus and other cut foliage come in alongside them, so a single Sunday can furnish the whole house for Christmas.
The market runs Sundays only, so in 2026 you have four shopping days: 6, 13, 20 and 27 December. The last of those falls after Christmas, which leaves three that matter, and they are not equal.
The cheap-tree secret: the last Sunday before Christmas
Here is the part most guides miss. Columbia Road traders price to clear, always, and nowhere is that instinct sharper than with Christmas trees. A tree is worth nothing on 27 December, so on the final market day before Christmas, Sunday 20 December in 2026, prices collapse.
The last-Sunday clearance is Columbia Road folklore: every December, Londoners swap stories of trees picked up late in the day for a small fraction of their early-month price, because a trader would rather take a low offer than load unsold trees back onto the van. It is the same late-day clearance logic that governs the flower stalls all year, concentrated into one morning with a hard deadline behind it. We will publish verified December prices here after our first on-foot Christmas price check.
The trade-off is real. By 20 December the choice is picked over, the tallest and fullest trees have gone, and you take what is left. But if your priority is a real tree in the living room for the price of a couple of pints, this is the cheapest Sunday in London to get one.
Early December for choice, late for the price
The decision is the same one that runs through the whole market, choice against price, only sharper at Christmas.
6 and 13 December are for choice. Full stock, every size, and the pick of the well-shaped Nordmanns before anyone has been through them. Expect to pay closer to a normal London tree price, though still keener than a garden centre, and expect a busy, festive street.
20 December is for the bargain. Thinner choice, lower standards on shape, but the prices above. Go early if you still want some choice at a discount, or go after 1pm and gamble on the end-of-day clearance.
For how the market's crowds and discounting move through the day in general, see our guide to the best time to visit, and remember that a wet Sunday thins the crowd and brings the discounts forward.
What it costs
Prices move year to year, so treat the figures here as indicative rather than fixed.
As a rule of thumb, expect to pay well under garden-centre prices at any point in December, and a fraction of that on the final Sunday.
Getting a tree home without a car
You cannot drive to Columbia Road on a Sunday, and you would not want to; the road closes for the market and parking is hopeless. See getting there and parking for the full picture. A netted tree is more portable than it looks, and it is a short walk to Hoxton on the Overground. Bring gloves, bring cash, and if you are buying a larger tree, buy it last so you are not dragging it up and down the street while you shop.
Wreaths, foliage and the rest
Even if you are not after a tree, December is a lovely Sunday to visit for the greenery. Handmade wreaths, eucalyptus, dried stems and seasonal foliage are all on the stalls, and the same clearance logic applies late on the 20th. For everything the market offers beyond Christmas, our complete guide covers the full year.
The honest verdict
For a full, perfect tree, come on the first or second Sunday of December and pay a fair market price. For the best bargain in London, come on the last Sunday before Christmas, accept whatever is left, and walk away with a real tree for a fraction of its early-December price. Either way it beats a garden centre, and the walk home through East London with a tree over your shoulder is its own small Christmas ritual.