Christmas Tree Maintenance 101

If you live in North America or Europe, odds are that you have a real Christmas tree in your house as part of the Christmas festivities. Here is how you get the most Christmas tree enjoyment during that time.

November Forestry

Most Christmas trees are grown on commercial farms and are harvested in November before the winter season has a profound effect on the trees survival mechanisms. For instance, a decrease in light leads to the tree sending much more water fluids into the root system, this may cause some dehydration if it isn’t cut before this process begins. So ask when the tree was cut, if it’s a fresh Christmas Tree, odds are, the needles will begin falling soon after it enters your home.

Home Maintenance

Once the Christmas tree enters your house, be sure to cut half an inch off the base and place the tree trunk inside of a bowl containing plenty of water and a little sugar. It’s important that you have as clean a cut as possible as this will lead to an efficient fluid delivery system for the tree as it becomes part of your living room. Remember, a dehydrated tree looses it’s needles at an increasing rate, so always make sure the bowl has plenty of water in it.

After Christmas

After Christmas, what do you do with the Christmas Tree? Well, you can mulch it, bring it into a local forest for nature to take its course or even better, keep it in your yard. A Christmas tree is a wonderful resource for the local wildlife population, the needles are used by birds for their home construction, insects use the tree structure for their home and allowing it to naturally decompose is a nice reminder that nature wastes nothing.

The Bottom Line

Christmas trees need to be taken care of both before and after their use.

Somerville Nurseries Inc.