Now that Christmas is right around the corner, most folks are thinking about picking that perfect tree out to decorate their home. Small, large, wide, thin, there are so many types of trees out there that you can find one that will fit your needs perfectly. But once you get that tree, what do you need to do to keep it as fresh as possible? It has been cut and no longer gets its nutrients from the earth. Now it’s all on you.
The first thing to do is make sure you make a fresh cut off of the trunk. The place where you get your tree should be able to do this for you. Why? Once your tree has been cut, the sap will start to run and once it’s hardened, it’s very difficult to get it to take up water. Watering is the lifeline to keep the tree from drying out.
It’s important to keep your tree stand in water ALL OF THE TIME. Once the stand runs out of water, the process of hardening off begins and the tree doesn’t take up as much water. Not good if you like to keep your Tree up for a long time. There are some cool watering assistants that can help. One is called the TreeSaver. You fill the reservoir with water and place the tube in your tree stand. Since it holds more water, the thought is that you won’t have to refill as often- still check the water levels! What’s cool about this TreeSaver is that it looks like a present under the tree and the tube is long enough that you don’t have to be a contortionist to refill it.
Also, the placement of the tree is important. If you place the tree near a heating source, say your fireplace, vents or pellet stove, your tree might experience quicker drying out and you might see a lot more needles falling. Cooler is better.
Tree safety is also important. Make sure that you secure your tree. Nothing is worse than to find your tree on the ground and you have to clean up the water and re-decorate your tree. I have caught my cats in my tree multiple times. It’s like a decorated perch for them.
Twinkle, twinkle. Light safety is also important. If you tree has dried out, don’t light it and think about removing it from the home.
We hope that you find that perfect tree and be safe through this holiday season!
Christy
