Christmas Tree Care Tips - How To Make Your Tree Last Longer?

The Holiday season is approaching and so is your anticipation for an all-new fresh and decorated Christmas tree. Buying and setting up the Christmas tree itself is a fun activity while adorning it with different ornaments adds a lot to this marvellous experience. But what is the use of all this fun and enjoyment if your Christmas morning is greeted by pine needles and a dull & dry tree?

Well, it can be a thing of the past if you start to take proper care of your Christmas tree, right from the time you brought it home.

How long will a Christmas tree last?

A Christmas tree, will last up to and over 6 weeks. It means that you can keep your tree fresh, firm, and fragrant even beyond the Holiday season if youtube the right care and have the right conditions for the tree.

How do I keep my Christmas tree from drying out?

We do have shared a well-structured strategy to keep your tree young and fresh for longer than ever. But the most prominent way to prevent your Christmas tree from drying out is to buy a water stand. The stand not only keeps your tree hydrated but also makes it convenient for you to check on water levels regularly. So, turns out, buying a tree stand remains the cornerstone to keep your tree from drying out.

Here is a quick summary of our guide to Christmas tree care which we will explore in further detail in this article;

Cut an inch off the base to allow water to absorb into the tree
Only bring into your home when you’re ready to display
If it is your first time buying a real tree then it is better not to purchase too early
If stored outside keep it away from pets or animals and keep it in a bucket of water
Water stand – If you don’t already have a water-holding stand then purchase one. Watering a tree is one of the best ways to help it stay fresh for longer
Watering – Top up with water when needed. A fresh-cut tree can consume litres of water in a day
When indoors keep away from direct heat sources and keep in the coolest area of the room
When indoors, lowering the temperature of the room can help from drying out

Now that we covered a quick overview let’s go through the above points in more detail where we list out the ideal Christmas tree care tips to keep your tree fresh for longer:

1. Choose the Ideal Location

One of the key aspects of your tree’s survival for a longer duration is where you set it up. If you’re displaying it outdoors (it’s rare but some people do), keep it away from pets and animals.

When displaying indoors, setting it near the fireplace might look like a great idea to match the vibe, but it’s disastrous for the tree itself. You can’t expect it to remain fresh, green, and lively if you’ve kept it near the “hazardous” fire for weeks or months. Place it somewhere at an optimum temperature with adequate humidity. In case your place lacks humidity, you may switch off the ornaments (lights) and spray the tree with clean water every day.

Aside from choosing the ideal spot, evaluating the dimensions of your decided space is equally important. It is something you should decide before you head over to the Christmas tree farm. Measure the height and width of the room precisely. Make sure you leave some inches between the tree top and ceiling to provide space for the star. Also, add some extra inches into the height of your prospective tree to account for the Christmas tree water stand.

2. Make the Best Choice

Choose the appropriate Christmas tree according to your preferences, the environment, placement, and above all, your experience of buying them. Making the appropriate choice is crucial because the type of Christmas tree you opt for determines how long it will last. You can’t expect a tree to last longer if it readily had shabby branches or pine needles falling off.

If you don’t have enough experience of buying real Christmas trees, you might want to follow some words of advice in this regard:

When choosing the tree for Christmas, look for the one that gives the natural scent and is placed somewhere in the shade.
Make sure the tree you opt for doesn’t have plenty of needles dropping off. You can test this as well. Shake the trunk gently and look out for the needles. Choose the one with the least number of green needles.
Your ideal Christmas tree shouldn’t be one full of brown needles. A few of them might work out but make sure they aren’t in abundance.
The green needles of an ideal tree are strong yet flexible, so check that out as well.
Do not purchase the Christmas tree too early if it is your first time buying and displaying it. Buying it right before the Holiday season kicks off should be the ideal time for you as a rookie.
It is prudent to have some understanding of the types of Christmas trees. So, getting to know more about them would help you make the best choice. But the most part of it remains up to your preference.

3. Take a Fresh Cut from the trunk

Once you’re done choosing your Christmas tree, it’s time to cut its trunk to make a proper base for water absorption. Trimming the trunk sets the foundation for its replantation. This is because the tissues start to get harder and impede water absorption once a grown tree is cut off from its roots. Cutting some part of the trunk’s base would remove any potential blockage. This way, the constant supply of water would ensure that your tree lasts longer than ever.

4. Put It into the Water Before Bringing Inside

Do not show any hurriedness to cut a living tree and bring it home once you have bought it. You might want to, or in fact, need to wait until you’re all set to display it.

This particular point is crucial for your tree’s survival because of the very reason we mentioned in the previous section. Keep the time between cutting and replanting your tree as short as possible, so as to get the least part of the trunk hardened. The more you will wait, the more its vascular system will become hard and hinder water absorption.

5. Buy Tree Water Stand

Better stay prepared ahead of time. Buy a Christmas tree water stand and fill it with water. A tree holding stand remains ideal to keep your tree healthy, hydrated, fresh, and fragrant throughout the Holiday season. The stands usually come in a variety of sizes for you to choose the fitting one for your tree. Make sure the stand’s size is in line with the dimensions of the tree. It should be big enough to accommodate 1 quart of water for every inch of the trunk’s diameter.

You can add tree preservatives like corn syrup, aspirin, sugar, and stuff. However, clean water at room temperature is pretty much all you need to maintain its freshness and scent for a longer duration.

6. Ensure Sufficient Water Before (and After) Decorating

Before placing the tree up and implying the decorations, check out if you’ve cut an adequate portion of the trunk. The ideal way is to place it in a tree stand for a day. Make sure a substantial part of the trunk’s base is submerged into water. See if it has absorbed enough water after 24hrs. If the water level remains the same, you might have to remove it from the stand and cut some more portions (1-inch or so) of the trunk.

Aside from this, keep a constant check on water levels once you display it. Ensure at least 2-3 inches of the trunk remains submerged. Refill the tree stand whenever needed; bear in mind that the more your Christmas tree absorbs the water, the longer it remains green, fresh, and fragrant.

Conclusion

Christmas trees are typically bought weeks or months before the Holiday season, and rightly so! Who doesn’t want to spend most of their time adorning the Christmas trees with fancy ornaments? With all these Christmas tree care tips in mind, you can buy it as early as you want and still keep the tree fresh for longer. To your surprise, a properly looked after real Christmas tree can last up to and over 6 months. So, turns out, you can keep your tree fresh, green, and fragrant even beyond the holiday season.