My Top Tips for looking after a Christmas Tree

So many of you have mentioned to me that you often choose a fake tree over a beautiful real tree because you think they will die, or they have in the past and you are wary of not knowing quite how to prolong its life. So, as this is our 6th year of having real trees and the fact that I’ve never lost one yet, I thought I would share with you our top tips, tried and tested for greater enjoyment of your real Christmas tree and will help to keep it fresh and fragrant throughout the festive season.

There are many types of trees that can be brought indoors for decorating. Most are available as cut trees. There are also container grown. Each year we choose something called a containerised tree; one that is dug up with roots in tact and popped into a pot.

Cut Christmas Tree Care (The more popular choice)

1. When you get your tree home pop it into a bucket of water to prevent dehydration until you are ready to decorate
2. When you are ready to decorate cut another 1 inch off the base before popping it into a stand (this breaks the natural seal on the tree)
3. Your stand MUST have watering facilities
4. Before bringing your tree indoors stand it up right and bang it onto the floor to allow any old needles to drop off
5. Once the tree is in its stand and in the correct spot remove the netting
6. Display your tree in a cool room (we pop ours in our bay and near to a window)
7. Avoid placing them near to a fire or radiator, as this will cause excessive moisture loss and needle drop (if this happens I am afraid there is no going back, so it really isn’t worth the risk)
8. The tree will require to be watered every day and may drink anything between 2 pints to a gallon of water a day. DO NOT allow the tree to dry out.

Christmas Tree with Roots Care (messy but worth it)

1. Before bringing your tree indoors stand it up right and bang it onto the floor to allow any old needles to drop off
2. Place a bin liner on the floor in the spot where you wish to display your tree, pop the bucket on top and begin
3. When potting your tree pack it in with sand
4. Once the tree is in its stand and in the correct spot remove the netting, cut the bin liner to the size of the bucket (this helps to catch any dirt or water so that it doesn’t ruin your floor)
5. The tree will require to be watered every day and may drink anything between 2 pints to a gallon of water a day. DO NOT allow the tree to dry out.

The biggest tip I can offer to you is to … buy your tree from a farm which grows them here in the UK rather than imported. You can buy trees from pretty much anywhere these days however and as we have seen today the prices are so heavily inflated. As an example our 9ft tree (Nordmann Fir) which we selected today is priced at £65 at our local tree farm. This same tree was also in a local garden centre and priced at £100. We also picked a 5ft tree (Norway Spruce) and this was £25, again this same tree was then priced at £45 in the same shop as above.

 

 

 

With the right amount of love, care and attention cut trees and trees with roots have lasted us about four weeks. Perfect. We pop ours up for the 1st December and it generally comes down on the 27th to make room for our Wedding Anniversary and NY celebrations.

One final tip. If you are able to carry your tree out of the house in one piece which we have only managed once. Be sure to re pot it and watch it grow. You can then pop lights on it the next year in the garden!

And that’s a wrap. My top tips. I do hope they helped you. Do pop back to let me know in the comments if you opted for a real tree!

KA x