Cut Christmas Tree Care
You can’t beat the look and smell of a real tree for the holidays… but how do you take care of it? When you bring your perfect tree home, be sure to follow these simple but important steps to keep it healthy through the new year!
Think of a cut tree like a large bouquet. Many of the practices we use to care for a vase of freshly cut flowers transfer over to our care of cut Christmas trees!
1. Choose a stand that is large enough for your tree. Shaving down the bark to get the tree into its stand is bad practice. Those outer layers of bark are the best at absorbing water, which is crucial to keeping our tree fresh! Before buying a stand, make sure you double-check the maximum recommended tree size and trunk diameter, and that it is for real trees rather than artificial.
2. Put a fresh cut on it. Feel free to ask a crew member to take a couple of inches off the bottom; they don’t mind, and your tree will thank you for it! This will help your tree take in more water. Try to avoid getting this fresh cut dirty, and do not drill a hole in the base of the tree.
3. Get it in a bucket of water as soon as possible. Your tree will soak up A LOT of water, especially in the first couple of days. It’s important to make sure you keep refilling the bucket as needed to keep your tree happy. At the very least, check daily throughout the holiday season.
4. Avoid home remedies. Never add anything to your tree’s water other than products specifically formulated for it. Using home remedies from the internet has no effect at best, and at worst, may hasten the decline of the tree! Prolong is a product made to preserve your tree’s freshness… if you want to add something to help your tree, try this!
5. Keep away from fireplaces. This includes space heaters, heat vents, direct sunlight, and even fluorescent Christmas lights. All of these will dry out your tree!
6. Enjoy it! Every tree is different… and once the ornaments are on it, they all look amazing.
Battling Needle shed?
Don’t worry… this is a very natural process! There is nothing wrong with your tree. All evergreen trees lose about a third of their needles every year, which happens from the inside, where there is less air, sunlight, and circulation. Once we get your tree through the baler, most, if not all of that shed will be removed… but don’t be surprised if you find needles dropping here and there!
In the end, it is all about maintaining and keeping moisture in your tree. If you take the steps to get your tree into water as soon as you can after the fresh cut and keep the water in your stand full at all times, you will have that perfect Christmas tree looking its best through the holiday season. We hope you have the very best and brightest holiday season, and we look forward to seeing you soon!
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