Caring for a Cut Christmas Tree: 12 Tips For Your Tannenbaum
Posted: Tuesday, December 11, 2007
by James Burns
Rational Environmental Solutions
"O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum, dein Kleid zoll mich was lehren:
Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, with faithful leaves unchanging."
Caring for cut trees can be difficult. They can be fire hazards at there worst, or you can find your tree devoid of needles before Santa arrives if you don't use proper care. Don't disappoint Santa. Almost everyone loves the fragrance of a real tree. It blends well with hot chocolate and Christmas carols. These are a few tips on keeping your Tannenbaum's leaves from changing.
1. Please measure carefully, be sure the tree will fit into the living room without massive cutting. If you have to take off too much, your tree may start to resemble "Charlie Browns" tree!
2. If you are not cutting your own tree from the farm, check to make sure that it is fresh. Brush it with your hand a few times and watch for falling needles. Drop the base on the pavement and check for the same thing. It will drop a few, even if it is fresh, but they should not fall out in hands full.
3. Cover it well for the ride home. 70 mile per hour winds will tend to desiccate, and defoliate.
4. Make sure it is well secured. Dragging it along the highway will leave it a little lopsided.
5. Please check your tree for pests, before you bring it inside. Just give it a few good shakes, and a visual inspection just to be sure you are not inviting any hitchhikers in to enjoy the cookies left out for Santa.
6. When you arrive, makes sure that everything is in place, you should have a good tree stand with plenty of room for water.
7. Water is the key to longevity. The trees from a lot, probably were sprayed with an anti desiccant spray before they were cut, or soon thereafter. You should trim an inch or two off of the base of the trunk, to assure that the tree can absorb the water.
8. Make sure that the tree is held firmly in place by the stand, and is stable.
9. Add water.
10. Check the water pretty often. The tree can soak up a lot of it. Evaporation will also lower the supply. It will need a constant supply to keep it fresh.
11. Decorate, and enjoy!
12. Something to consider: Go to a local nursery and buy a living Christmas tree! Buying a container grown tree can be fun and you can use it in your landscape when it outgrows your containers! You can re-pot the tree as needed, and use the same tree for several years, then when it grows too large for practical use, plant it in your landscape! This is a nice, environmentally friendly way to celebrate the season.
Don't forget to leave some milk to go with those cookies!
Merry Christmas!
This Article has been viewed 172 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
No comments yet.We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.