One of the things many look forward to during the holidays is picking the “perfect” Christmas tree and decorating it together with the rest of the family. But how do you maintain its lush green color and delightful scent?
In this article, we’re sharing practical tips on how to keep your Christmas tree fresh so it stays beautiful and fragrant throughout the season. Let’s get started!
Selecting the Perfect Tree
There really isn’t a “perfect” Christmas tree. Each type of tree is different, with its own unique qualities that make it beautiful.
When choosing a Christmas tree, you need to match it to the needs and wants of your household. For example, if you have small children, it would be best to buy a tree with pines or firs with soft needles to keep your kids from getting hurt.
Below, we’ve listed the types of Christmas trees along with their corresponding features to help you decide which tree would be perfect for your home.
| Type of Christmas Tree | What’s to Love |
| Balsam Fir | Has a deep green color, excellent needle retention, and has a strong, aromatic, evergreen scent. |
| Fraser Fir | Very attractive needles with shiny dark green tops and silvery bottoms, good needle retention, and a fresh, mild fragrance. |
| Douglas Fir | The needle color is either dark green or blue-green and emits a sweet scent when crushed. |
| Arizona Cypress | Has a steel blue color with soft needles and a lemony mint aroma. |
| Virginia Pine | Has a classic pine scent and responds well to trimming, making them a good choice for landscape. |
| Leyland Cypress | If pine pollen is a trigger for you, this is the perfect tree. Has very little scent or pitch and a deep green color. |
| White Pine | Has soft needles, which makes it safer for small children and gentle for those with delicate skin. The mild fragrance makes it ideal for sensitive noses. |
| Scotch Pine | Has soft, hairlike, striped needles that resist shedding even if you forget to water it and a lasting, pleasant piney aroma. |
| Monterey Pine | Has a deep green color, medium-length needles, and a bushy overall appearance. |
| Blue Spruce | This tree is perfectly symmetrical, with a rounded pyramid shape that gives it a very full appearance. Its needles have a mild aroma. |
Checking for Freshness
To make sure you’re buying a fresh Christmas tree, first check the trunk. It should have a slight stickiness to it. Then bend a needle in half – fresh firs should snap, while fresh pines will bend and not break.
Another way to see if the tree is fresh is to gently tap the cut end of a tree on the ground. With a fresh Christmas tree, only a few needles will fall off.
Setting Up Your Tree
After you’ve chosen the perfect Christmas tree and you’ve taken it home, be sure to give it a good shake so you get rid of all the messy brown needles before you bring the tree inside the house.
Do a final measurement of the height of the tree relative to the ceiling height to determine how much you need to cut off the bottom of the trunk.
Once you’re done with the Christmas tree trimming, you can loosely put the tree on its stand and place it into your preferred spot. Make sure the tree is standing upright, then tighten the stand.
Providing Adequate Water
At this point, it’s essential to add clean water as soon as possible. During the first couple of days, your tree will need to absorb a lot of water.
The actual amount of water a tree can consume varies, so be vigilant the first two days and refill whenever the stand gets low until the levels stay steady.
The water level should never drop beyond the cut end, or you run the risk of pitch forming, which will seal off the tree’s ability to absorb water.
Keeping Your Christmas Tree Fresh All Season
A Christmas tree can last for just a week or as long as two months, depending on how fresh it is upon purchase and how you care for it. Taking care of a Christmas tree does not require a lot of effort, but it will need a regular dose of tender loving care.
Regular Watering
It’s important to check the water level every day and make sure that the bowl never goes dry. A 6-foot Christmas tree requires at least one gallon of water daily to stay fresh.
One of the questions we get asked often is, “How to water Christmas tree without having to move the presents out of the way?” you can try a tree watering system. This makes it easy to water your tree without having to move the gifts every time.
Avoiding Heat Sources
Don’t put your Christmas tree near the fireplace, radiator, space heater, heat vent, and direct sunlight. The key to slowing down the drying process is keeping the temperature low.
If you like wrapping your tree in ribbon or tinsel, make sure they’re flame-resistant or flame-retardant. Also, avoid placing decorations near heat sources on the tree.
Safety Precautions
While the Christmas tree is a wonderful centerpiece of the holiday season, it can also be a fire hazard.
If your tree catches fire, it will only take a few minutes before flames, poisonous smoke, and deadly heat fill the entire room, and the fire can travel up a staircase into adjacent rooms and make escape virtually impossible for anyone on the second floor of your home.
Here are a couple of ways to ensure your Christmas tree doesn’t put you and your home at risk.
Turn Off Lights at Night
Never leave your Christmas tree plugged in when you’re asleep or away from home. Be sure to turn it off before going to bed or leaving the house.
Properly Dispose of Your Tree
Once the holiday season is over, promptly dispose of your Christmas tree. Dried-out trees are a fire hazard, and there’s a right way to dispose of them to minimize risks.
One way to recycle your Christmas tree is to chop it into smaller pieces and throw it into your compost pile. You can also put it through the chipper to make mulch.
If you need to throw it away, check with your town. Most schedule specific days for tree pickup, when they come around with a chipper to turn the trees into landscaping materials or haul them off to a landfill.
Conclusion
Having a live Christmas tree at home is such a wonderful thing to have during the holidays. We hope that these tips will help you choose a fresh tree that will remain fresh throughout the season.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out! Feel free to give us a call at (310)276–9827 or send us an email at info@mrgreentrees.com, and one from our team will reply to your query as soon as possible!
Frequently Asked Questions
You don’t need to add anything to the water to keep it fresh longer. Studies have shown that plain tap water is all you need to keep your Christmas tree fresh.
You should promptly dispose of your Christmas tree after the holiday season, as dried-out trees are a fire hazard.
You should be watering your tree daily.
