Have you ever wondered what to do to keep your Christmas tree fresh for as long as possible?? This is a question we hear quite often, so in this blog article we’re going to take a closer look at it.
The result is a nice list with 10 valuable care tips for your christmas tree at home. As a little extra we have each care tip around a real Professional tip supplements. These professional tips all come from our personal, long experience in dealing with the Christmas tree.
Feel free to apply these tips to your tree at home. We are sure that you can significantly extend the life of your green friend this way.
Have fun reading!
Table of contents
1. Tip: Buy a Christmas tree that is as fresh as possible
The first tip is actually quite logical, but is often neglected. When buying a Christmas tree, try to remove as few fresh tree to get hold of. A freshly cut Christmas tree usually lasts longer than a fir that has already been on sale for a few weeks. The best way to do this is to go to a local dealer or buy directly from the producer around the corner. Do-it-yourself and garden center chains are expressly not recommended.
When you arrive at the retailer, it is best to ask the sales staff directly when the trees were cut. The Christmas tree seller can certainly give you more precise information about this. The best harvest date of a fresh Christmas tree should be just a few days before your purchase. We also cut our Christmas trees just before delivery.
If you have found a nice tree specimen, you should examine it more closely:
- If the cut edge on the tree trunk is still to be bright and fresh?
- Lie only few pins on the ground or are already heaps of old pine needles under the tree?
- Fall also at the Shaking only a few needles from the tree?
Has the tree passed your quality test? Perfect! Then nothing should actually stand in the way of the purchase. Last but not least I can give you a Pro tip from your own experience:
Take a closer look at the branches of the Christmas tree. Swipe with your hand opposite about the needles of the tree. If again no or hardly any needles fall from the branches in this test?
Then you undoubtedly have a freshly cut Christmas tree in front of you, which should also last a long time in your home.
2. Tip: Choose the perfect date for buying a Christmas tree
We recommend that you pay close attention to the timing of your tree purchase. When choosing the date, you can ask yourself when the tree should be ready in your living room at the latest.
Do you put up your Christmas tree as early as mid-December, or do you wait until just before Christmas Eve??
Once you have chosen the right date for you, you can plan the perfect time to buy your Christmas tree. The date should be a few days before the final installation of the tree be laid. In this way, your fir still has some time for the right Acclimatization. Under care tip no. 5 you will find some more useful info on how to properly acclimatize your Christmas tree.
And here is another Professional tip:
Don’t wait until just before Christmas Eve to buy your Christmas tree. Most dealers are then already out of stock and sell only the last, usually ugly Christmas trees from. As a rule, these trees are already somewhat dried out, as they have been standing in the sales room for several days and weeks and have not received any water.
3. Tip: The type of Christmas tree determines its shelf life
Yes, even with Christmas trees there are different varieties. Very many even. Roughly speaking, you can distinguish between spruce, fir and some exotic Christmas tree varieties. For a better overview we have picked out the most common varieties:
But which variety lasts the longest now?
Clearly, the Fir species! The advantage of the fir species over the other types of Christmas trees lies in one small detail. And in the needles. The needles of the fir simply sit more firmly on the fir branch due to their plate-shaped base. Even if you shake the branches properly, the needles are difficult to detach from the branch.
With spruces, on the other hand, the needles can be loosened just by shaking them slightly, as they are not so firmly attached to the twig due to their flag-like base.
Our Pro Tip:
Look out for the Nordmann fir. The Nordmann fir is the most popular Christmas tree in Germany, because it is a very long-lasting fir. In contrast to the other fir varieties, it is even relatively inexpensive. We therefore also only offer fresh Nordmann firs.
4. Tip: Transport your Christmas tree home professionally
Once you’ve found the Christmas tree of your dreams, you can take it home right away, or? Unfortunately, this is easier said than done. Due to its bulky and overhanging shape, the large tree will not fit in a car or through a normal front door without proper packing.
The right packaging makes it easier
A remedy for this is a Christmas tree net or a wrapping cord. With the help of a tubular net or a long string, you can turn your big, wide Christmas tree into a narrow but long, round package. You don’t have to be afraid that branches will break off. The growth form of the Christmas tree allows a tight wrapping in this packing material. The service of a good Christmas tree dealer usually includes the free packaging of the fir tree.
Proper transport is essential
If you have to transport the Christmas tree long distances by car, we strongly recommend that you pack the tree during transport in an online shop protected from the wind in the trunk or trailer. If the tree lies unprotected on the roof of the car, it is exposed to the icy wind and can lose a lot of moisture. This, in turn, can have a negative impact on durability.
If you still can’t avoid transporting it on the open roof of your car, we recommend wrapping the tree in a windproof tarp or foil.
And here is another Professional tip for transport:
Of course, it is costly to lug the big Christmas tree home. If you don’t have the possibility or simply don’t want to go through the hassle of transporting your Christmas tree, we recommend the following Christmas tree purchase by mouse click in an online store. The courier service does the work and you can receive an intact and fresh fir tree for your Christmas celebration.
5. Tip: Store your Christmas tree in a cool and wind-protected place
Once you have brought your Christmas tree to your home, you can bring it to the Acclimatization Store them temporarily in a cool room. You should definitely give your tree a few days to acclimatize, so that it can get used to the warm room temperature in the house from the frosty temperatures out there. Going from cold to warm too quickly can lead to premature needle drop. And this is what to avoid.
These places are perfect for acclimatizing your Christmas tree:
- In the Garage → is protected from the wind and is usually frost-free
- In Winter garden → also protected from the wind and frost, but here you have to make sure that it is stored in the shade. Too much sunlight will cause your tree to dry out
- On your Balcony → is not completely frost-free but still protected from the wind
- In the cold Staircase → is also frost-free and halay protected from the wind. Be careful that your tree doesn’t get long legs (you know what I mean)
If you have found the perfect place to store your fir tree, you can already give it its first Give water. To do this, simply place the trunk of the fir a few centimeters deep in a bucket of water. Check the water level regularly.
Our Pro tip: Already you can Remove Christmas tree netting, so that the branches of your tree can slowly lay down. However, you should only remove the net if you are sure that the Christmas tree will still fit through all the doors and corridors in your home.
6. Tip: The right preparation for the Christmas tree
Putting up the Christmas tree wants to be properly prepared. Again, here are a few little things you should consider for a long Christmas tree life.
First, you can bring your Christmas tree to the final location (for the perfect location, see point no. 7 a few more tips). If you have not yet removed the netting, now is the time to do so.
You can Christmas tree netting either pull it off by hand from the trunk to the top or cut one side with scissors and then take the tree out. Take some time to remove the netting. Especially with small shoots and buds, you should carefully remove the net so that you do not injure your fir. You can then dispose of the packaging remains in the household waste.
After that, you can make the needles of the tree a little bit smooth it out with your hand and the fir branches a little down. Many fir needles still look a bit disheveled after shipping, but that can be easily corrected with this handle. The branches do not mind being pressed down, as they will only return to their original shape.
Last but not least our Professional tip:
Cut with a handsaw a small slice from the trunk of the tree. By shortening the tree you allow it to grow better water intake, because the fresh wood on the trunk usually still has an intact conductive tissue for the fabric transport.
If you don’t have a wood saw in your household, you can also ask your Christmas tree salesman in a friendly way if he can take this little handle off your hands while you are buying the tree.
But Attention: A plant absorbs water only through the outer bark, more precisely through the conductive tissue. Therefore, the outer, brown bark of the fir should be undamaged.
7. Tip: Choose a good location in the living room
If finally the day of the Christmas tree installation has come you can start directly. If you have followed the previous tips, your tree has adapted well to the Ambient temperature and is ready for the new season Set up. To choose a good location in your living room, we have again a few helpful tips for you. First, let’s start with the six natural enemies of the Christmas tree. Again, the Christmas tree is always at risk of drying out.
Now what does this mean for choosing a good Christmas tree location in my home? Correctly! You should be on very warm and draughty places do without. Well suited would be for example the winter garden or a cooler corner in the living room, not directly next to the warm heater.
If you can’t completely avoid a warm location, for example because you’ve installed underfloor heating, we’ll have another one Professional tip for you:
Place your Christmas tree and stand on an insulating stand Underground how z.B. a styrofoam plate. So at least the base of the tree is placed a little colder. In addition, you can now and then carefully aerate, so that the warm, stagnant air is drawn out of your living room.
8. Tip: Use a Christmas tree stand with integrated water reservoir
When choosing the best Christmas tree stand, you are actually no limits. As long as the Christmas tree with the trunk fits into the stand everything is fine, or?
Unfortunately not quite. On the market there are many Christmas tree holders that no integrated water reservoir Have. Actually, there is nothing wrong with these models either, as some of them look great. I immediately think of the old nostalgic metal Christmas tree stands with the screws to attach the tree. In the trend are also stands made of a simple wooden cross to fold open. These are quite inexpensive and also very practical.
In today’s blog article, however, it is about a long durability of the Christmas tree, so we can not recommend the waterless stands. From our point of view it is recommended to use a stand with integrated water reservoir to purchase. Usually these models are about as expensive as a Christmas tree and you can use them for many years. In the larger models, manufacturers have even built in a practical water level indicator, which allows you to read the water level. If necessary, you can simply add some water with the watering can.
Here again we have Pro tip for you:
Be sure to Maximum tree height the Christmas tree stand. For small trees, there are also smaller Christmas tree stands with a narrower diameter. For large Christmas tree specimens, you also need to use a larger stand to keep your tree standing securely and prevent it from falling over suddenly.
9. Tip: water your Christmas tree regularly with fresh water
I can not emphasize it enough! Without Water can your Christmas tree do not survive long. Is also logical. Which plant can already thrive without water?
So look regularly in the Christmas tree stand whether the tree is still sufficiently supplied with water. It is best to use a Watering can with long neck. Because such a Christmas tree can be quite wide, the long neck of the watering can is even better suited so that you really reach the Christmas tree stand.
Glycerin makes the Christmas tree last longer? – Hardly!
In our experience, by the way, home remedies such as adding water to the watering can help Glycerin or the insertion of a 1 cent coin in the Christmas tree stand abundantly little.
In conversation with our customers, no customer has been able to explain correctly and logically that a Christmas tree lasts significantly longer with these home remedies. Therefore, we believe that this is an old custom without real added value acts.
If you have had other experiences, feel free to report them in the comments. Maybe there is a good home remedy that will help the Christmas tree to old freshness?
Spraying Christmas tree with water helps a lot
On the subject of water, we have another very special one Pro tip in the repertoire, which you should definitely implement:
Spraye your Christmas tree regularly with water. Also by needles the tree can still absorb water and be supplied. In some cases this helps even more than simply watering the trunk.
10. Tip: Choose fir-friendly ornaments for your
Actually, you can hang anything you want on your fir tree. There is nothing wrong with shiny baubles, golden tinsel or beautiful figurines. Up to a few exceptions there are no limits to your creativity when decorating your Christmas tree.
Your tree does not like these assecoires at all:
- thick snow spray
- hot fairy lights or. Open candle fire
Straight Snow spray or. Artificial snow from the can enjoys ever greater popularity. However, the wetting of the pine needles with this material leads to a sealing of the needles and thus to a succumbing of the natural residual transpiration. With the spray you give the tree virtually the rest. In addition, wetting the needles with water spray is also no longer possible.
Warm lamps and open candle fire are also not conducive to a long life of your Christmas tree. Here again there is the danger of Drying out and even acute fire hazard.
Our professional tip:
We recommend LED light chains. These fairy lights emit relatively little heat compared to the old, conventional fairy lights, and are also energy efficient and fire safe. Already from ten euros these fairy lights can be purchased in stores.
Last but not least
Now actually nothing can go wrong. If you follow our 10 pro tips you’ll be long Joy on your Christmas tree and can easily last for a good while 4 weeks reach.
Last but not least, we would of course be very happy if you can contribute some interesting tips or ideas on the topic in the comments. Maybe we have forgotten something important. We gladly include helpful contributions in the article.