How To Keep A Christmas Tree Alive: Tips For Keeping Your Christmas Tree Fresh

Caring for a live Christmas tree is easy, but requires a few specific steps. If you take these steps, you can make a Christmas tree last longer through the season. Let's take a look at how to keep a Christmas tree alive and fresh.

Tips to Make a Christmas Tree Last Longer

Wrap the tree for the trip home

Most Christmas trees travel to their owner's home on the top of a vehicle. Without some kind of covering, the wind can dry the Christmas tree out. The first step to keeping your Christmas tree fresh is to cover the tree as you go home in order to keep the wind from damaging it.

Recutting the stem on the Christmas tree

When caring for a live Christmas tree, remember a Christmas tree is essentially a giant cut flower. Unless you cut your own Christmas tree, chances are the tree you buy has been sitting on the lot for several days, possibly weeks. The vascular system that draws water up into the Christmas tree will have clogged up. Cutting off just a ¼ inch (0.5 cm.) of the bottom of the trunk will remove the clogs and open up the vascular system again. You can cut more off, if you need to for height reasons. Many people wonder if there is a special way to cut the trunk to help with keeping your Christmas tree fresh. A simple straight cut is all that is needed. Drilling holes or cutting at angles will not improve how well the Christmas tree takes up water.

Watering your Christmas tree

To keep a Christmas tree alive, it is essential that once you cut the trunk of the Christmas tree, the cut has to stay moist. Make sure to fill the stand immediately after you cut the trunk. But, if you forget, most trees will be ok if you fill the stand within 24 hours. But your Christmas tree will stay fresh longer if you fill it as soon as possible. If you want to make a Christmas tree last longer, just use plain water. Studies have shown that plain water will work to keep a Christmas tree alive as well as anything added to the water. Check the Christmas tree stand twice a day as long as the tree is up. It is important that the stand stayed filled. A Christmas tree stand normally holds a rather small amount of water and can quickly use up the water in the stand.

Choose an appropriate location for your Christmas tree

Another important part of making a Christmas tree last longer is choosing a good location in your house. Place the tree away from heating vents or cold drafts. Constant heat or fluctuating temperatures can speed the drying out of a tree. Also, avoid placing the tree in direct, strong sunlight. The sunlight can also make the tree fade faster.