Selecting and Caring for your
Real
Christmas Tree
Choosing a real Christmas tree is a fun outing
for the whole family and easy to do. Here are a few simple steps for selecting the perfect
tree.
In most households, the holiday season didn’t begin
until the family went to the local lot or tree farm to pick out their tree. Then, the
whole family would decorate the tree. Gifts would be wrapped and placed underneath it.
And, on Christmas morning, the family would once again join around the tree waiting for
the festivities to begin. The scent, aroma, and the real tree itself were an integral part
of the family unity as well as the holiday season itself. This tradition continues to this
day as more than 37 million families celebrate with a real Christmas tree.
The celebrating of Christmas with a real tree has been a
tradition for over 400 years. At one time, all Christmas trees were cut from natural
stands (or straight out of the forest). As you can imagine, these wild trees looked
nothing like today's professionally grown and sheared trees. Today, 98% of trees are grown
on plantations. These plantations may sell them to local lots, or act as choose and cut
farms where people go to select and cut down their own fresh tree.
To make your tradition a more memorable and pleasant one,
we’d like to offer a few helpful hints when selecting a tree:
-
Do a freshness test. Gently grasp a branch between your thumb
and forefinger and pull it toward you. Very few needles should come off in your hand if
the tree is fresh. Shake or bounce the tree on its stump. You should not see an excessive
amount of green needles fall to the ground. Some loss of interior brown needles is normal
and will occur over the lifetime of the tree.
-
A good fragrance and green color indicate
freshness
-
Before you set up your tree, make a fresh, straight cut across
the base of the trunk (about a quarter inch up from the original cut) and place the tree
in a tree stand that holds a gallon of water or more.
-
Warning: Keep the tree stand filled with water. A seal
of dried sap will form over the cut stump in four to six hours if the water drops below
the base of the tree, preventing the tree from absorbing water later when the tree stand
is refilled. If a seal does form, another fresh cut will need to be made.
It’s important to break that seal to allow the
tree to “drink” in the water needed to keep it fresh throughout the
holidays.
-
Put
your tree in a water-holding stand immediately. If you are not ready to
decorate it, put it in a bucket within 12 hours of making the cut.
-
A tree will absorb as much as a gallon of water or more in the
first 24 hours and one or more quarts a day thereafter. Water is important because it
prevents the needles from drying and dropping off and the boughs from drooping. Water also
keeps the tree fragrant. Caring for you real Christmas tree is easy —
the most important thing to remember is that real trees need water —
just like a fresh bouquet of flowers.
-
In addition, keep your tree away from heat and draft sources
like fireplaces, radiators and television sets. Test your light cords and connections
before hanging them on the tree to make sure they're in good working order. You don't want
to use cords with cracked insulation or broken or empty sockets. Also be sure to unplug
the lights before you go to bed or leave the house. Never overload electrical circuits.
Sensible precautions such as these will help preserve the
unique beauty and tradition that only a real Christmas tree can provide. |
Position your tree away from heat sources,
fireplaces and television sets.
Be sure that all light cords and connections are
in good working condition and not frayed.
And don’t forget to unplug the lights when you
go to bed or leave home!
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