Christmas Tree Care at Christmas
A typical 6ft. Christmas Tree will have taken 8 or 9 years to grow to the size that you want to buy. Until it is harvested it will have been growing alongside many thousands of its kind in a place that suits it very well. When Christmas Trees are harvested they are sometimes cut at ground level and sometimes physically pulled up, roots and all.
However the trees that you are making your choice from have ended up at the retailer, you can be sure in the majority of cases that, unless they state otherwise, they were all harvested several weeks ago, and not this morning.
That being the case, there are a few things that you can do to try to increase the ‘shelf-life’ of your tree so that it reaches Twelfth Night still looking something like it did when you chose it. If you have looked at our blog about Conifers, you will know that Evergreen Plants continue to transpire because they still have leaves or needles. The influences that most dramatically effect plant transpiration rates are air temperature and available light. So apart from having had their root system cut off and therefore losing their access to water, they also have to deal with suddenly warmer surroundings and the increase in both light intensity and longevity. Is it any wonder therefore that there is a tendency for them to go into a decline ?
So, what can we do to help?
1. To start with, look for the ‘freshest’ looking tree that you can find. Chances are
it will have been cut more recently than a poorer-looking tree.
2. Where it has been cut at the bottom, cut off maybe another 2 or 3 inches to
freshen it up. You may have done something similar with cut flowers. It
presents you with fresher conductive tissue.
3. Put it in a bucket of water as soon as you can, and keep it there, even once
it’s decorated. This will help to keep it hydrated. But PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU
KEEP YOUR ELECTRIC LIGHTS AND YOUNG CHILDREN SAFELY AWAY FROM
THE TREE. If you have any doubts about safety, put up with falling needles !!!
4. Place the tree well away from sources of heat – radiators, fires etc.. This will
help to reduce transpiration. It is made of wood and could ignite !
5. Finally, Keep it in as dimly lit a place as you can to reduce photosynthesis,
and use LED lights if you can as they give off very little heat.
And after all of that, all of us at Priestgate Garden Specialists Ltd wish you a very
MERRY CHRISTMAS.