How to Care For A Real Christmas Tree
Tips To Keep Your Live Xmas Tree Fresh And Avoid Needle Drop
Oct 30, 2009
In most homes, the Xmas tree is a glorious symbol of Christmas, ablaze with Christmas lights and garlanded with shimmering Christmas decorations. Too often though a neglected tree quickly becomes no more than a skeleton of bare branches on a carpet of needles - more a symbol of the morning after - but a little Christmas tree care will keep your tree fresh and green right through Christmas.
Always start by buying from a reliable supplier who can tell you where the trees were grown and when they were cut or lifted. You may have a local tree farm, like Norfolk's Elveden Estate or a good garden centre. Alternatively, many growers, like Scotland's ChristmasTreeLand have a mail order service.
Also, some types of Christmas trees last better than others. Whichever species you select, choosing a good specimen is important, and try not to buy your Xmas tree before, at the earliest, the last week in November. Once you’ve chosen, caring for your tree properly right from the start is essential.
Taking the Christmas Tree Home
Wind will quickly dry out any tree. It’s best to transport a Christmas tree inside your car if its small enough, or in a covered trailer. If using a roof rack, protect the tree from the wind with a tarpaulin or sheet of plastic.
A centrally heated house is the worst possible environment for a Christmas tree. Even trees which are resistant to needle drop, like Nordmann Firs, Scots Pines, Fraser Firs and Colorado Blue Spruce, will suffer if exposed to these condtions over a long period, so it’s best to delay taking the tree indoors for as long as possible.
As soon as you get home find a sheltered spot in the garden protected from the wind and “heel it in” and soak the soil to keep the roots - or butt if it’s a cut tree - moist. Cutting half an inch of the bottom of a cut tree before doing so will help it take up water.
It’s wise to spray your tree with one of the needle retaining Christmas Tree sprays sold in garden centres before bringing it into the house. They’re perfectly sound environmentally and are often used by horticultural growers to stop moisture loss from cuttings. They also act as a fire retardent.
Setting Up The Xmas Tree
Standing the tree on a tree skirt or mat will not only catch any falling needles, but also protect the carpet or floor from water and soil. Remember that a potted tree can be very heavy and awkward to manoeuvre; it saves a struggle to bring a big tree indoors to its final position before potting.
If using a Christmas tree stand, always choose one with a water reservoir. Otherwise, stand the tree in a good big pot - either one with a drainage hole and a saucer to stop water staining floors and carpets or one of the special ornamental Christmas tree tubs with a solid bottom.
Wedge the tree firmly in the pot with wooden braces or a couple of bricks to stop it moving around, then fill the tub with garden soil to a couple of inches below the rim, firming it down well and water thoroughly.
Pot Grown or Bare Root Christmas Trees
Norway Spruce Christmas tree in sizes up to five or 6 feet are often sold with their roots, and these will always last better than cut specimens. If the potted tree is small enough to handle it’s best to pot the tree up as soon as you get it home. Otherwise, heel it in as described above until bringing it indoors and potting.
When potting a rooted tree, use a pot with a drainage hole and stand it in a saucer. A waterlogged tree is just as likely to shed its needles as a dehydrated one.
Aftercare of Christmas Trees
Top up the water reservoir or water the pot daily. If you treat a potted bare-root tree well, and don’t keep it indoors too long, it should survive to serve another year, or to plant out in the garden.
Finally, your tree’s useful life needn’t be over when the Christmas decorations come down, even if you don’t intend to keep it for next year. Many local councils will now accept old Christmas trees and recycle them into garden mulch, so why not give yours a good, environmentally friendly send-off..
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