Care Tips: Christmas Trees

Posted on December 9, 2015January 22, 2020 in Tips and Advice

What is Christmas without a tree? If you are looking to buy a fresh cut tree from your local nursery this year, here are some care tips to make sure your tree lasts throughout the holidays.

Selection

Nothing gets you more in the Christmas spirit than going to the nursery with your family and picking out a tree. There are many species to choose from so which are the best?

The top two most popular and reliable trees I would recommend to any family are the Frasier fir and Douglas fir. Both these trees stand up well once brought indoors, they have excellent needle retention and maintain their scent.

Two species I would advise caution before purchasing are the White or Norway spruce, they tend to drop needles once brought into warmer temperatures. Nobody likes sweeping the floor every day!

Setting Up Your Tree

Once you get your tree home, be sure to store it somewhere unheated and protected from high winds and snow until you’re ready to set it up and decorate.

Before you take it inside, make a fresh cut straight across the base of the trunk (about a quarter inch from the original cut) and set it up on a tree stand that holds at least one gallon of water or more.

Tree Care

Once your tree is set up, the most important thing is keeping it watered! Christmas trees will absorb up to a gallon of water or more within the first twenty four hours and at least one to two quarts a day!

If the tree runs out of water, it will create a seal of sap over the stump within 4-6 hours preventing anymore water from being absorbed. If the tree can’t intake water the needles with dry up and fall off. Keeping the tree well-watered will also keep the tree fragrant!

Be sure to set up your tree away from warm drafts, fireplaces, radiators because they will dry out the needles. Lastly, make sure to unplug the lights when unattended as a safety precaution.

Please send us a picture of your Christmas tree on our Facebook page, we would love to see your creativity!

Happy Holidays,
Andrea

Post contributed by Andrea Weddum, Landscape Designer

For any questions or comments please comment on our
Facebook page.

Can’t decide between a real tree or an artificial one? See what Andrea thinks here.

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We would like to thank the Gelderman Landscape team for our lovely backyard patio and seating area. The care and attention to detail was excellent and the team of Darren, Seth, Christian and Jay were an absolute pleasure to work with.

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23:13 16 Nov 24

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13:45 24 Oct 24

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19:43 10 May 24

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