The holidays are upon us, and nothing brings that festive spirit out more than getting your Christmas tree. For many families, this means gathering up the family and traveling to cut a tree down. But for others, this means going to a nursery to pick out a live tree. While it may seem intimidating at first, decorating and then planting a tree that you can enjoy the rest of your life is simple, and only requires you to follow a few key guidelines.

• Pre dig your hole: By digging now and covering your hole with mulch or straw, you can avoid the hassle of having to dig in frozen ground.
• Slowly bring your tree inside: Your tree will be used to cold temperatures. Before bringing it to your heated indoor space, bring it to an unheated garage or porch first, allowing it to slowly acclimate.
• Plan to keep your tree inside no longer than five days. Any longer and the tree may begin to break dormancy.
• Keep the root ball moist but not overly wet.
• When moving outside, follow the same routine as you did while bringing them inside. Allow a week to readjust to colder temperatures before putting your tree out in the elements.

By following this list, as well as your usual planting instructions, you will be able to enjoy your tree year after year. Happy Holidays!

It’s that time of year again. In the midst of all the hustle and bustle that accompanies the holiday season, we somehow manage to find the time to continue the time-honored tradition of selecting and decorating the perfect Christmas tree. But after we have found that perfect tree, what to do next? How do we make sure that our “perfect” tree continues to look perfect through the holiday season? This is a common question for us here at Van Wilgen’s, and I would like to go over some very simple steps for keeping your cut tree looking its finest.

It is important to note that this article deals specifically with cut trees. We would be more than happy to assist you with any live tree (roots still attached) care at any one of our four locations. Before I list the steps that I recommend for keeping your tree looking its best, it may help to think of a cut tree like a large bouquet of flowers. Many of the practices we employ with our care of a vase of freshly cut flowers transfer over to our care of cut Christmas trees. Try these tips and I have no doubt you will be enjoying that perfect tree through the holiday season!

• Choose a stand that is large enough for your tree. Shaving down the bark to get the tree to fit is bad practice. Those outer layers of bark are the best at absorbing water, which is the most important part of keeping our tree fresh!
• Have a fresh cut done before putting the tree into the stand. This increases the water absorption capability of the tree.
• Get your tree in water AS SOON AS POSSIBLE after making this cut. Keep the cut free of dirt. This is the most critical point. The sooner you can get the tree into the water, the better.
• If you are not putting the tree into a stand immediately after the fresh-cut, it’s ok! Just be sure to put that tree into a bucket of water until you are ready to put it up!
• After your tree is in the stand, keep it full of water. Your tree will generally “drink” the most water within the first few days of being set up. It is critical that the stand remains full of water so check often! At the very least, check daily throughout the holiday season.
• Drilling a hole in the base of the tree does NOT help with water uptake.
• The temperature of the water that is added to the stand does NOT make a difference. Also, never add anything to the water to preserve freshness other than products specifically formulated to do so. Prolong is a good example of one. Using “home” remedies from the internet has no effect at best, and at worst may hasten the decline of the tree!
• Try to keep the tree away from direct heat sources whenever possible. For example, away from heat vents/registers, fireplaces, direct sunlight, space heaters, etc. Also, use lights that produce less heat such as L.E.D.’s. This has the added benefit of less energy consumption and longer life. Both of which are better for the environment!

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!