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Keeping Your Tree Fresh

By 250 News

The tradition of decorating a tree for Christmas has been around for many years. Dating back to Germany in the 1500’s it was brought into North America in 1850 and has become a family tradition for many families. Years ago families would go into the forest to look for a tree but now 98% of all live Christmas trees are grown on farms. In North America, there are more than 15,000 Christmas tree farms that annually plant 73 million trees producing between 34-36 million trees a year. The average tree takes 7-10 years to mature. There are four varieties of trees that are the most popular for Christmas trees and they are the ‘Noble Fir’, ‘Fraser Fir’, Grand Fir’, and the ‘Douglas Fir’.

The ‘Noble Fir’, is a long keeping tree. The needles are 1 inch long and four-sided twisting upwards. They are blue/green in color giving the tree a silver appearance. A compact looking tree with a pyramidal shape is the ‘Fraser Fir’, as it has slightly turned upward branches making it easy to transport. The ½ -1inch needles flattened needles are dark green on the topside and a lighter green on the bottom side. Fraser firs have a nice scent, as does the Grand Fir, which has a strong fragrance. The ‘Grand Fir’ is known for its two rows of needles, which are spread horizontally making it easy to see both the upper and lower sides of the branches. The needles are 1-1 ½ inches in length and are dark glossy green in color. If the tree has been sheared, when growing it will have nice thick foliage. A Pacific Northwest tree is the ‘Douglas Fir’, which has been used since the 1920’s. The 1-1 ½ inch needles are soft to the touch and are dark green to blue green in color.

When you have a fresh cut tree you want it to last and look good for the entire Christmas season and this is easily done by first choosing a healthy fresh cut tree. When purchasing a tree you want to have a good look at it to see if it has a uniform shape, and to do this properly it should not be wrapped in string or netting. In addition, the needles should be flexible, moist and fragrant all signs of a fresh tree. Next, you want to check for needle drop as you do not want the needles to fall off, and this is done by lifting the tree a few inches above the ground and letting the bottom (butt end) drop on the ground giving the tree a thump. There should be very little to no needles that fall off the tree and the few that may fall off will be the brown old inner needles from around the trunk. To ensure that the tree will take up water the butt end of the tree should be re-cut by ½ -1 inch. Cut trees cannot withstand below freezing temperatures of –5 Celsius or lower so they should not be displayed in outdoor temperatures or transported in an open vehicle. When you get the tree home, place the re-cut trunk in a bucket of the following solution for 12 hours.

1 gallon (4 litres) hot water mixed with
2 cups corn syrup
4 tablespoons micronized iron or iron chelate (found in the garden center)
4 teaspoons liquid bleach
After the twelve hours remove the tree from the solution and place, it in a fresh water filled stand. It is important to always keep the tree watered, as the average tree will take up to a quart of water daily for the first week. Keeping the displayed tree away from heating vents and drafts will also aid in a longer fresher looking tree.

I know in warmer climates such as the lower mainland living trees are also an option, however here in Prince George it does not work because it is not possible to plant the tree outdoors after Christmas due to the weather. Living trees can only be kept in the home for a 7-10 days before they need to be planted outdoors for best results.

-Jos 

Jos Van Hage owns three Art Knapp's Garden Centres in the Prince George area
-Highway 16 West
-Highway 97 south at the old Cariboo Highway
-Highway 97 north



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