How to Care for Your Farm-Grown Fresh Christmas Tree

When a Christmas tree is cut, over half of its weight is water. With proper care, you can maintain the quality of your displayed trees. Below are a number of tips relating to the care of displayed trees:

1. Displaying trees in water in a traditional reservoir type stand is the most effective way of maintaining their freshness.

2. Prior to being placed in the stand make a fresh cut to remove about 1/4 inch thick disk of wood from the base of the trunk. Make the cut perpendicular to the stem axis. Don't cut the trunk at an angle, or into a v-shape, which makes it far more difficult to hold the tree in the stand and also reduces the amount of water available to the tree. Don't bruise the cut surface or get it dirty.

3. If needed, trees can be temporarily stored for several days in a cool location, out of the sun and wind. Place the freshly cut trunk in a bucket that is kept full of water.

4. To display trees indoors, use a stand with an adequate water holdling capacity for the tree. As a general rule, stands should provide 1 quart of water per inch of stem diameter.

5. Use a stand that fits your tree. Avoid whittling the sides of the trunk down to fit a stand. The outer layers of wood are the most efficient in taking up water and should not be removed.

6. Keep displayed trees away from sources of heat (fireplaces, heaters, heat vents, direct sunlight). Lowering the room temperature will slow the drying process, resulting in less water consumption each day.

7. The temperature of the water used to fill the stand should be warm.

8. Check the stand daily to make sure that the level of water does not go below the base of the tree. With many stands, there can still be water in the stand even thought the base of the tree is no longer submerged in water.

9. Drilling a hole in the base of the tree does not improve water uptake.