Mike's Backyard Nursery

The Most Fun You Can Have With Your Bibs On!

  • Home
  • Recommended Tools
  • Products
  • Categories
    • Complete Guides
    • Gardening
    • Growing
    • Landscape Design
    • Plant Care
    • Propagation
  • Contact
  • About Mike
Home » Miscellaneous » Selecting and Caring for a Live Christmas Tree.

Selecting and Caring for a Live Christmas Tree.

Updated : November 7, 2014

7 Comments

Christmas trees are living things and you need to be aware of that as you look for the perfect Christmas tree for your home.  Make sure the tree that you get is as fresh as possible.  How do you know?  Aren’t they all fresh?

Let’s just say that some are “a lot” fresher than others.  Some Christmas tree growers start cutting and storing trees in November so they have enough trees cut when it comes time to ship them.  This really isn’t a good thing, but it’s just the way it is.  How they store the trees make a huge difference.  Some dump them into a pond or lake to keep them moist until it’s time to ship them.

 

The Most Fun You Can have with Your Bibs On!

 

You are much better off with a tree that was cut locally by a smaller grower.  They just do things differently.  Or better yet, go to a tree farm and cut your own.

While on the Christmas tree lot you can test the freshness of a tree by tugging on a branch to see how many needles come off in your hand.  If a lot of green needles come off, that’s not a good sign.  That tree may have already been cut for weeks before it made it to the lot.  Just do your best to find a fresh tree.

How far do you have to haul your tree?  Traveling for any distance at all with a tree tied to the top of your car will dehydrate the tree considerably.  It depends on the weather, but it’s a lot like holding a blow dryer against the branches of the tree.  The needles on the tree need all the moisture they can retain.  Tarp your tree before you haul it home.

When you get the tree home if you are going to put it up right away store it out of direct sunlight and it certainly won’t hurt anything to wet the foliage as soon as you get it home.    When you are ready to bring it into the house first make a fresh cut on the bottom of the tree.  Just cut of about 1″ from the very bottom.  Christmas trees contain a lot of sticky sap and when the cut end is exposed to the air the sap dries and actually seals up the end of the tree preventing it from absorbing water.  That’s why you want a fresh cut right before you move it into the house.

Inside the house keep your tree away from heat sources like fireplaces and warm air vents.  They will draw too much moisture out of your tree.  Place your tree in a stand that has a water reservoir and keep the reservoir full of water at all times.  A Christmas tree can absorb two to three quarts of water per day.  Keep the water supply full!

After Christmas take the tree down as soon as it starts to drop more than just a few needles.  To dispose of your Christmas tree do not put it out with your trash.  It should be recycled.  Take it to a facility that runs old trees through a chipper to be used as mulch or maybe somebody that collects old Christmas trees to be used as bird shelters or even fish shelters in a pond.

 

Wanted!  People Who would Like to Grow and Sell Small Plants from Home! 
Mine have Earned Thousands!

 

Here’s the video about Digging and Planting a Live Christmas Tree in case you haven’t seen it.

 

 

Take a gander at these posts...

  • Pruning Azalea Bushes
  • Tree Stump Removal Instructions
  • Check Out My Billy Goat Outback Brush Cutter!
  • 37 Ways to Know You’re Addicted to Gardening
  • Tree Pruning Tips and My 5-Year Experiment

Comments

  1. John Wilson says

    December 16, 2012 at 1:28 am

    There are a few things you can add to the water to help the tree. 7up or sprite with syrup and an aspirin. It makes an artificial sap. Learned this one from a friend of mine who was a florist. She used it on all her flowers to keep them fresh.

    Reply
    • Mike says

      December 16, 2012 at 9:13 am

      John, thanks for sharing this. I knew somebody would offer this information, I really couldn’t remember what is normally used. I know they sell products to add to the water as well.

      Reply
  2. Robert says

    December 16, 2012 at 12:56 am

    we make a family day of getting a tree, going in to the mountains. of cores there is a small fee, & takes more time but we enjoy it…..

    Reply
  3. Keith says

    December 15, 2012 at 8:22 pm

    How do you care for the little Christmas shaped rosemary plants. I have never gotten one to live past the season.

    Reply
    • Mike says

      December 16, 2012 at 5:57 pm

      Keith, I don’t think I have an answer for this, anybody else?

      Reply
  4. Christine says

    December 15, 2012 at 4:17 pm

    Hi Mike, just read your article on Christmas trees, fantastic. I didn’t know half of that information. Anyhow, I’m wondering if I could plant my used tree outside after Christmas, rather than get rid of it ?.

    Wishing you and your family a lovely Christmas.

    Christine.

    Reply
    • Mike says

      December 16, 2012 at 9:12 am

      Christine, sure you can plant your tree outside if it’s balled tree. There’s a video about that on this page near the bottom of the article.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Mike’s Big Perennial Bed by the Month.

Posted On April 27, 2023 By Mike

$180.00 per Square Foot? Is it really possible?

Posted On March 28, 2023 By Mike

Rooted cuttings of variegated weigela in bunches to harden off.

Over Wintering Rooted Cuttings.

Posted On January 8, 2023 By Mike

Mike's Big Perennial Bed.

Mike’s Big Perennial Garden

Posted On January 8, 2023 By Mike

A Profound Thank You from Mike.

Posted On September 1, 2022 By Mike

Finnegan keeping the sun off his head.

An Old Guy, Two Donkeys, a Puppy and a Hammock. What could possibly go wrong?

Posted On July 17, 2022 By Mike

This upside down donkey is a hoot!

An Upside Down Donkey and Cute Puppy.

Posted On July 14, 2022 By Mike

'Rockin Raspberry' Bee Balm.

‘Rockin Raspberry’ Bee Balm.

Posted On June 26, 2022 By Mike

'Bubblegum Blast' Bee Balm.

‘Bubblegum Blast’ Bee Balm

Posted On June 26, 2022 By Mike

Blue Angel Hosta.

‘Blue Angel’ Hosta.

Posted On June 25, 2022 By Mike

Complete Guides

Growing, Rooting and Propagating Dappled Willow in Tree Form from Cuttings.

Growing Seeds, Winter Sowing, in Milk Jugs and Kitty Litter Jugs.

The Correct Way to Pot Rooted Cuttings, Nursery Stock Liners and other Plants.

Training Arborvitae and other Conical Evergreens to Grow with a Single Leader.

How to Propagate, Root Cuttings, of Dwarf Alberta Spruce.

Recent Posts

'Rockin Raspberry' Bee Balm.

‘Rockin Raspberry’ Bee Balm.

Wow! I planted four of these 'Rockin Raspberry' Bee Balm in the perennial garden at the nursery last summer and look at them now. They are in bloom right now, end of June here in northern, Ohio and every person that sees them asks about them. This beauty … Read Full Article

'Bubblegum Blast' Bee Balm.

‘Bubblegum Blast’ Bee Balm

This beautiful Bee Balm is part of the 'Sugar Buzz' series. I planted these in my perennial bed last summer and this year they are beautiful and blooming like crazy! They grow from 16" to 24" tall, are hardy from zone 4 through zone 8. They love full sun … Read Full Article

Blue Angel Hosta.

‘Blue Angel’ Hosta.

'Blue Angel'hosta is by far one of my favorite blue hostas. A big hosta like this in a perennial bed covers a lot of area and that keeps a ton of weeds at bay! These giant heart shaped leaves are very slug resistant. We have this plant in full sun. With … Read Full Article

Big Daddy Hosta.

‘Big Daddy’ Hosta

'Big Daddy' hosta is one of my favorite big hostas, mostly because it's big, it's blue and it has very interested leaves that are a bit dimpled. Big Daddy hosta gets about 24" tall and 36" wide. It's hardy in zones 3 through 9, the flowers are blends of … Read Full Article

'Humpback Whale' hosta.

‘Humpback Whale’ Hosta.

We sold out of 'Humpback Whale' hosta pretty early this year. Humpback Whale is pretty impressive hosta and this one really hasn't matured yet because they can get three feet high and 7 feet wide. I've also seen photos of them that show them to be a lot … Read Full Article

Copyright © 2023 · Hill Country Digital Media, LLC · Privacy Policy · Earnings Disclaimer · Terms of Service