Care of
Real Christmas Trees
- The care of all the different species of trees is essentially the same.
- As soon as you arrive home place the tree in a bucket of water. Should the sap on
the butt of
the tree have become "crusty", cut a thin slice (about 1/2" thick) off the butt and place it in
water immediately. This is not necessary if you are using the new intravenous watering
system.
- Leave the netting on the tree until you install the stand and bring it indoors. The
netting
makes it much easier to get the tree through doors and halls.
- Locate the tree well away from sources of heat, such as fireplaces, heater vents,
space heaters
and stoves.
- An anti-transpirant is helpful in keeping your tree fresh. If the trees were not treated
in the
field, you may want to treat it yourself.
- Keep in mind that all trees can consume large amounts of water. But the Leylands
and
Sapphires are unbelievable. You should expect them to consume 2-3 gallons per day. Water
consumption decreases as time progresses. The extent to which you care for your tree will
determine its freshness during the Christmas season. Never ever allow the water level in the stand to go below the bottom of the tree trunk. Tree sap can become 'crusty' and seal the vascular system of the tree preventing it from absorbing additional water. This phenomena is similar to a scab forming on a flesh cut and has the same purpose. Remote automatic watering systems are available to help to prevent this from happening.
- Christmas tree safety is very important and its your responsibility. There has never
been a
case where a Christmas tree auto-ignited. Most fires originate from faulty wiring in the
lights.
Before you string the lights on the tree, test each string. If they are not working properly and
can not be readily repaired, discard them and purchase new ones. The risk of a fire is not
worth the cost of a string of lights. Always unplug the lights at bed time or when you are
going to be out of the house.