what is a reasonable amount of time to keep a christmas tree

If you're as enthusiastic about the holiday flavour as I am, you lot probably like to decorate your Christmas tree early on, and that ways bringing home a live tree soon after Thanksgiving and hoping information technology lasts for several weeks.

If yous're non diligent at the showtime of the season, still, you could terminate up with more fallen pine needles than presents nether the tree by Christmas Twenty-four hours.

At that place are a number of tricks to brand a Christmas tree last longer, and this goes for a tree picked upward at the local tree lot, a tree harvested from a Christmas tree farm, or a tree cut downward in the forest (which my family unit does in Oregon every year as a beloved tradition).

But none of the tricks I share below involve the communication you often hear for extending the flower of cut flowers, like cut the bottom at an angle or adding sugar (or molasses, aspirin, commercial preservatives, or other unnecessary additives) to the water.

In fact, the only things you'll need to ensure a nice, long life for your tree is a clean cut and plenty of water.

Don't believe me? Read on.

Hither are the exact steps I take every year to proceed our Christmas tree fresh and beautiful all month long (and even past the New Year).

How to brand a Christmas tree last longer

one. Kickoff with a healthy, vibrant tree.

This is especially important if you lot're buying a specimen from a tree lot, as the tree may have been cutting a couple weeks prior and transported a long distance to reach the vendor. Don't be agape to ask the vendor where the trees came from and how recently they were harvested.

Earlier bringing a tree dwelling, run your fingers forth the branches and look for soft, flexible needles that accept a rich, deep dark-green colour.

Stale-out trees will often have a bleached or pale olive-colored appearance. Check how many needles fall off right away—if it'due south a lot, it'south a good indication that the tree is non as fresh as it should exist. Give the tree a good shake and sentry for an excessive amount of needles that fall, as well equally signs of thinning or browning areas.

Related: Why Inner Conifer Needles Turn Yellow or Brown in Fall: An Evergreen Bibelot

If the tree is already starting to dry out and has stiff, brittle needles, it won't accept upwardly as much water, and a warm, cozy home will just exacerbate the trouble.

Weight likewise matters: a heavy tree means it'southward retained a lot of h2o, helping it stay fresher longer.

If you're cutting your own tree, attempt to look for a few difficult frosts to happen showtime. This sends evergreen species into a state of dormancy so they're hardened and ready for winter. Their needles form a heavy, waxy blanket called cutin to help prevent moisture loss, and they're less likely to react to sunlight and warm indoor temperatures.

two. Give the tree a clean, straight cut beyond the bottom.

Chopping downward your own tree ensures yous have the freshest cut possible, assuming you don't alive more than a couple hours abroad.

This is because it takes 3 to iv hours for a seal of stale sap to course over the cut body, thereby hindering its ability to absorb water. Information technology's most common in non-dormant trees and those that sit down out in the dominicus for a while.

If yous're ownership a tree from a tree lot, ask the vendor to make a fresh cut for yous past slicing off a thin disk of wood from the trunk. This is ideal if you'll be placing your tree in water within 45 minutes of the cut.

Otherwise, make the cut yourself at dwelling by sawing an inch off the bottom in a straight line (no angled or "V" cuts necessary).

You should make a fresh cut even if you cutting your own tree just a few hours agone.

Why? Because when a tree is starting time cut, air gets into the plant tissues and disrupts the tree'south ability to absorb h2o. Cut the trunk once again "primes" the tree, then to speak, so it tin hydrate properly.

3. Become the tree in h2o equally soon equally you lot come home.

The bulldoze home on the roof of your car or the bed of your truck can beginning to dry out out even the freshest tree to the point where it needs a drink of water immediately.

If you haven't cleared space in your home for the tree withal, place the body in a large bucket of h2o in a cool, shaded, sheltered spot like an unheated garage (or a covered porch, if it doesn't get beneath freezing in your expanse).

Copse tin can absorb as much as a gallon of water in the first 24 hours, so information technology'south crucial that your tree stays well hydrated.

As shortly as you bring your tree indoors, prepare it upwardly in a sturdy tree stand up with a generous h2o reservoir that holds at least a gallon of water.

Quick tip: Don't decorate your tree until you're sure it'south taking upward h2o properly. If the water reservoir is nevertheless relatively full the next solar day, brand a new cutting or (assuming you purchased it from a tree lot) return the tree for a different one.

Utilise a stand that'south properly sized for your tree, as y'all desire to avert etching off the bark to fit the stand up—it's those outer layers that aid the tree absorb the most water. Without them, your tree will dry sooner.

4. Keep it cool.

As romantic as the idea of a beautifully lit Christmas tree past the fireplace is (you know, then Santa has quick access), it's actually not the nigh ideal place to keep a tree.

Oestrus sources like fireplaces, forest stoves, space heaters, and radiators oft dry out a tree much faster than you can h2o it, so it's best to locate your tree away from heating apparatuses and heating vents, and out of direct sunlight.

If you honey having your tree in front of a window, effort to avoid a south-facing window (or draw the blinds or curtains during the day when the sun is most intense).

The warmer your home is, the more your tree volition take up water, and so consider lowering the thermostat to slow the drying process.

If you alive in a particularly dry climate, it may besides help to run a room humidifier near the tree to keep the needles fresher longer.

Disclosure: All products on this folio are independently selected. If you purchase from one of my links, I may earn a commission.

5. Opt for LED lights.

Believe information technology or not, the type of Christmas calorie-free y'all decorate your tree with tin affect how long your tree lasts. Should you lot go incandescent or LED? Well, here'southward the thing…

The new school of LED holiday lights emit very lilliputian heat, which keeps your tree from drying out too quickly and besides reduces the risk of fire.

They're inexpensive, energy efficient, don't burn down out, and last a long time, and most modern LED lights come in a "warm white" glow that mimics incandescent lights. (My favorites are these sphere lights, which have a sort of retro look to them.)

For all these reasons, it's worth replacing your traditional calorie-free strands with LED lights, or saving those hot-burning incandescent bulbs for your windows instead.

You tin can observe tree toppers lit with LED lights, likewise. Many of them are fabricated to connect to your LED lite strands, then you lot don't have to deal with actress cords or batteries.

6. Bank check the water level every day.

Trees suck up a vast amount of h2o, so don't be surprised if you lot find that you need to top off your tree stand up daily.

Go along at least ii inches of the body submerged in plain, make clean water at all times to prevent sap from forming over the base. (It'll be much harder to make a fresh cut once more if your tree's already decorated.)

Retrieve that sometimes in that location will nonetheless exist water in the stand up, but yous won't realize that the h2o level has dropped below the base of the tree.

In full general, a tree can absorb up to a quart of water per day for every inch of its diameter, especially in the first week.

This is ane of the reasons a properly sized tree stand is helpful. If your tree trunk is five inches in diameter, get a tree stand that holds at to the lowest degree 5 quarts of water so you don't have to refill it twice or more than each day to keep the needles dark-green and supple.

(Run into my favorites, similar this Tree Genie Deluxe, in the source list beneath.)

7. Recycle your Christmas tree in the garden.

With proper care, a typical evergreen tree should last four to five weeks earlier it dries out likewise much. Afterwards that, most people dispose of it through a local tree recycling plan.

But, yous tin can give your tree a second life in the garden and have everything come full circle.

Try cutting the branches into smaller pieces and adding them to your compost pile. Since organic brown affair (carbon) is harder to come by in winter, they're perfect for balancing all the greenish affair (nitrogen) that come from your kitchen scraps. Or, run the trunk and branches through a wood chipper to brand mulch for your planters and paths.

An old Christmas tree also makes a good base for a new hugelkultur bed, a type of lasagna garden that's i of my favorite lazy gardening techniques.

If yous have perennial garden beds that demand mulching, you can strip the tree of its branches and place them around your plants and shrubs. Leaving the branches long like this will create a nice, thick mat of mulch for the balance of the season.

For the crafty folks, you tin likewise slice the trunk into thin rounds to use as coasters, place cards, gift tags, and other fun projects.

Demand more inspiration? Here are ten clever ideas for repurposing an old Christmas tree. You'll never wonder what to exercise with a dead tree over again!

Common questions well-nigh keeping Christmas trees fresh

How oft should yous water a Christmas tree?

Refill the water reservoir in one case a day, or invest in an extra large tree stand up that merely needs to exist filled once or twice. (This is my favorite stand up, and it's a burly one too—you won't have to worry about your tree toppling over. It's also a sure-fire to get your tree upright. I own it and love it.)

The first week is the well-nigh crucial catamenia for a Christmas tree'due south survival—it's when the tree takes up the nearly water, and then keeping the water reservoir in your tree stand topped off  is very important.

Subsequently a calendar week or then, the tree volition respond to the cut on its trunk past oozing resin, which naturally seals the "wound." At that indicate, information technology won't accept up as much water but all the same needs information technology to retain moisture in the needles.

Should you add anything to Christmas tree water?

At that place's some debate near whether adding whatsoever kind of preservative to the h2o (like sugar, corn syrup, aspirin, or even vodka) tin can proceed a Christmas tree fresher, but experts agree that plain, clean water is all-time.

Does drilling holes in a Christmas tree help?

Contrary to what your gramps may have told you, never drill holes in a Christmas tree torso, thinking it will aid the tree have up more water.

All it needs is a make clean, direct cut when you bring it home, and a skillful long soak in a 5-gallon bucket of h2o (if you aren't able to become it in the tree stand correct away).

How long volition a Christmas tree last?

In full general, five weeks from when you cut it is about the time your tree becomes so dry that it's a burn hazard.

But if the tree is kept in ideal atmospheric condition (away from heaters and south-facing windows, and watered religiously), it could really stretch into a sixth week. Just be certain to keep a close eye on the needles and how much they drop each day.

On the other paw, copse purchased from Christmas tree lots may only last three to four weeks, depending on when they were harvested.

When buying from a retail lot, ask the vendor when he received his shipment of trees. Some vendors only receive shipments at the beginning of the season, while others receive several shipments throughout the season.

If the tree arrived soon afterward shipment, it stands a meliorate take a chance of staying fresher longer, since it was cut more recently.

What types of Christmas trees last the longest?

According to a study past the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Betoken, Fraser fir is the best multifariousness in terms of h2o uptake and needle memory, followed by balsam fir, Scotch pine, and Black Hills bandbox (a variant of white bandbox).

Can you bring a dying Christmas tree dorsum to life?

The best style to revive a struggling Christmas tree is to give it more than water. Always keep the bottom 2 inches of the trunk submerged in make clean h2o, even if it means yous have to refill the h2o reservoir in your tree stand daily.

You tin as well keep a Christmas tree green and supple past lowering the thermostat in your dwelling house (the cooler air helps information technology stay fresher longer) or moving it away from a large window that gets directly sunday all twenty-four hour period. Since rut causes needles to dry out more rapidly, try to avoid placing your tree too shut to a fireplace, wood stove, or heating vent.

This post updated from an article that originally appeared on Dec 5, 2018.

keetontioncer.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.gardenbetty.com/how-to-make-a-christmas-tree-last-longer/