Caring for your fresh cut Christmas tree Posted On: Saturday, Nov. 28 2009 05:33 AM By Jackie Stone
Killeen Daily Herald

While a plastic Christmas tree won't shed needles or get tree sap all over the house, for many the holidays just aren't complete without the smell, feel and hassle of a live tree.

And once you've made the decision to buy a cut tree from one of the many Christmas tree lots now springing up around town, there are several things to consider about care, selection and safety.

According to Pat Deibert, nursery manager for The Guys with Green Thumbs in Killeen, and Gordy Tessman, owner of Copperas Cove's seasonal staple Gordy's Christmas Trees, the No. 1 piece of advice is buy early.

"A lot of people think the closer you are to Christmas the better off you are, which is wrong," Deibert said. "The trees have already been cut, therefore the earlier you get them and put them in water, the longer your tree is going to last."

At the lot

When choosing a tree, shoppers should think about how they want to decorate, but also just plain personal preference.

"Picking Christmas trees is like picking a pair of jeans. It's just kind of whatever you like," Deibert said.

While some stores do carry potted trees that can be planted after the holidays, Deibert and Tessman said they generally don't hold up well in Texas. Non-traditional trees such as a juniper or an arborvitae might be an option for those seeking to keep the tree in their landscaping.

Types of cut trees

For cut trees at Gordy's, tree hunters can choose between firs, which have soft needles, and a traditional pine or spruce, which have sharp needles.

"We have the Fraser Fir, which to me is the Cadillac of Christmas trees. It lasts a long time, has soft needles and strong limbs to hold up stuff," said Tessman, who has been bringing trees to Cove from Michigan at Christmas annually for about 25 years.

The Scotch Pines at Gordy's are a traditional pine Christmas tree that last the longest of the pines, but do have sharp needles, he said.

The Blue Spruce on the other hand has hard, sharp needles, but sturdy branches that are good for heavy ornaments. Tessman said the Blue Spruce is popular with families that have traditional, heavy wooden ornaments.

The Guys with Green Thumbs in Killeen doesn't carry any of the sharper varieties of Christmas trees, sticking to the four most common of the soft fir trees – Fraser, Noble, Douglas and Grand.

Deibert said the branches of a Noble Fir have breaks between them, good for hanging ornaments all the way to the trunk.

The Douglas Fir and the Grand Fir have longer needles and have been sheered into the right shape for the season.

If shoppers are worried about a tree being too dried out, Tessman said stroking a branch to see how many needles come off is a popular but inaccurate way of "kicking the tires."

A better idea is to go by is weight. A healthy, freshly cut 7-foot tree should weigh about 40 pounds he said, while a dried out tree could weigh as little as 20 pounds.

Getting it home

Even if decorating is a few days off, the Christmas tree should get a fresh cut and be kept in a shady place in a bucket with plenty of water. A 6-foot

to 7-foot tree should be in a stand that holds about a gallon of water, and should be checked for refills regularly.

"Check the water level in your stand when you first get it. (The tree) can suck up water pretty quick," Deibert said.

If the tree is out of water for more than a couple hours, she said another fresh cut is a good idea.

When it comes to what goes in the water, hot or lukewarm is better than cold. And Tessman warned against adding sugar or Sprite rather than a store-bought tree preservative. He said home remedies with sugar can actually hurt the tree's ability to draw water.

To avoid leaving a telltale track of dried needles to the curb when taking the tree out after Christmas, Tessman suggested laying a tree disposal bag underneath the tree skirt to make for a quick and easy way to wrap it up without the mess.

Picking a spot

Picking a spot for the tree isn't just about display, it's also about the heat.

Heat from a fire, heating vent or even too much sun can dry out a tree, causing it to drop needles, brown and become a fire hazard.

"If they're going to put it by a picture window in the sun shine, they need to shade it," Tessman said.

Deibert suggested turning off heating vents near the tree, and always checking light strands carefully for frays and tears. It helps protect from fires, and the heat from a fray can also dry the tree out, she said.