How to Care for a Real Christmas Tree: Tips to Keep It Fresh All Season

Bringing home a Christmas tree is one of the best parts of the holiday season—but keeping it fresh takes a little care! From choosing a healthy tree to proper watering and recycling, these simple tips will help your Christmas tree stay green, fragrant, and beautiful all through the holidays.

3 Essential Christmas Tree Care Tips

If you only remember three tree tips, make it these three!

1. Cut off the bottom of the trunk (at least an inch). Any precut tree will have sealed its original cut with sap, so it can’t suck up the water it needs.
2. Put the tree in water immediately. Think of your tree as a cut flower. It will not survive long without water; you may not see the tree wilt, but it will never be the same if it dries out. You can start by just placing the tree in a bucket of cool water in your garage, but don’t store it for more than a day or two.
3. Never let the water run dry. Check on water levels twice a day for the first week.

Now that we’ve shared our three most critical tips, here is some expert advice on buying and caring for your Christmas tree. 

How to Choose and Buy a Fresh Christmas Tree

• If possible, buy a freshly-cut tree from a reputable nursery or cut your own (with the land owner’s permission). Why? Many of the trees for sale were cut weeks before. Freshly cut Christmas trees are farmed specifically for their purpose and to support local agriculture.
• If you’re buying a tree that can be replanted later, remember that a tiny percentage of these trees survive after being indoors in the winter. To give them the best chance of survival, only keep a live tree in your house for a MAXIMUM of 1 week. The heat and dry air in a home can really take a toll on a living tree.
• Give trees 2 to 3 days to adjust by letting them sit in a garage or “in-between” transitional spot before and after they are in the home.
• As reported by growers across the United States, the top-selling Christmas trees are the Fraser fir, Douglas fir, blue spruce, noble fir, and balsam fir.
• If there are many needles on the ground around the trees, go elsewhere.
• To check a tree’s freshness, pull your hand toward you along the branch. Needles should not fall off.
• If you want to keep your Christmas tree potted and in the house after Christmas, a Norfolk Island pine would be the best choice—they are commonly kept as houseplants. Check with a local florist or nursery in your area.

Caring for Your Christmas Tree at Home

• When you bring your tree home, you’ll need to saw an inch off the bottom of the trunk before setting it in water. When trees are cut, pitch oozes out and seals the pores. By sawing off the base, you will open up the pores, and the tree can absorb the water. A straight cut is fine; there’s no need to cut at an angle. You can cut even more off the bottom if you need to fit the tree in your home. Never trim the bark, though.
• Make sure you have a tree stand with a 1-gallon capacity. The tree will drink up to a quart of water per day for every inch of its stem diameter.
• Watering is critical. A freshly cut tree can consume a gallon of water in 24 hours!
  • Fill the tree stand with water and keep it filled.
  • Never let the water level go below the tree’s base.
  • Plain water is fine.
• Indoors, keep the tree away from heating ducts or other heat sources. The lower the temperature, the better the tree will do.
• One old Vermonter we knew always packed his tree stand with well-watered soil and planted the tree in the mixture. He advised keeping the soil wet.
• Some people add aspirin, Sprite, or sugar to the water; we can’t say whether these help or not. Again, water is the vital element.
• See more advice for keeping your Christmas tree fresh.

How to Recycle a Real Christmas Tree

What do you do with your tree after the festivities have ended? Live, biodegradable Christmas trees can be turned into mulch. Most cities have recycling events or even curbside pickup during the weeks after Christmas. All you do is donate the tree, and they’ll shred it down to natural mulch to take home and use in your garden. Check with your city government about tree pick-up or drop-off. Learn more ways to recycle a Christmas tree.

Replanting a Live Tree

Sometimes, we’re asked about replanting a live tree. First, you can only replant trees that came with a living root ball (that hasn’t been cut or damaged). Second, the tree can’t be dried out; most Christmas trees will only last about a week (at the most) indoors in a heated home. But if you kept the tree in a cool area or near a window, it could be worth a try.

With those caveats, you’ll want to plant the tree immediately after Christmas. If you’re in a cold climate and the ground isn’t prime for planting, mulch around the tree’s base and set it aside in a cold, sheltered area until the temperature warms. In the meantime, water the tree every few weeks.

Learn More

Where did the tradition of Christmas trees come from? Read about the origins of popular Christmas traditions here! 

Ready to deck the halls? Keep your tree healthy and your holidays merry with these easy care tips!