There are close to 15,000 farms growing Christmas Trees in the U.S., and over 100,000 people are employed full or part-time in the industry. It can take as many as 15 years to grow a tree of typical height (6 – 7 feet) or as little as 4 years, but the average growing time is 7 years.
With proper care, most real Christmas trees should last at least five weeks or more. That means, if you decorate for Christmas in late November, your tree should easily survive beyond the holiday festivities.
The Moravian Christians put lighted candles on those trees." The earliest known firmly dated representation of a Christmas tree is on the keystone sculpture of a private home in Turckheim, Alsace (then part of Germany, today France), with the date 1576.
With some care, Real Christmas trees can last up to 3-4 weeks before drying out. Follow our tips to keep your cut Christmas tree alive and fresh in December.
A real tree can last around four weeks, so you might want to wait until the first week of December. Otherwise, you risk a carpet of dried needles before Christmas even gets there.
Many tree farms have sales around Thanksgiving, which is usually the best time to buy a real Christmas tree—and is oftentimes even less expensive than waiting to make your purchase on Black Friday or later.
Most real trees will settle and open up over a couple of hours, so you should wait to start hanging lights and ornaments. You can also make some DIY Christmas decorations to make your home stand out.
Your live Christmas tree should last at least five weeks indoors – that is, if you take good care of it. If you purchase your real Xmas tree around the end of November, it should be green and full of life come Christmas day.
While some people swear by adding something extra like sugar, soda and even vodka to their Christmas tree's water, our sources say fresh water is the best option.
Australian Christmas tree, (Nuytsia floribunda), also called moodjar, parasitic tree of one of the mistletoe families (Loranthaceae), native to western Australia. The tree may grow to 10 metres (33 feet) or more and produces many yellow-orange flowers during the Christmas season.
The Huon pine is Australia's oldest living tree and is one of the oldest living organisms on earth. Individuals have been known to reach an age of 3,000 years. Fossil records from a tree found in a boggy area in the south west of Tasmania were dated at 3,462 years!
Germany is credited with starting the Christmas tree tradition as we now know it in the 16th century when devout Christians brought decorated trees into their homes.
Contrary to what your grandpa may have told you, never drill holes in a Christmas tree trunk, thinking it will help the tree take up more water. All it needs is a clean, straight cut when you bring it home, and a good long soak in a 5-gallon bucket of water (if you aren't able to get it in the tree stand right away).
Do not add sugar, aspirin, bleach or floral preservatives to the water; plain tap water is all that is needed to keep your tree fresh.
You should spray your tree with room temperature water at least once a day but only when the Christmas lights are off and unplugged. Spraying your tree daily will reduce the dryness, prevent excessive amounts of needles from falling off, and make the tree more resistant against fire and flames.
Leave out the gimmicks. You might have been told that Coca-Cola or corn syrup in the base helps to keep your tree alive, or maybe the garden centre tried to send you home with special tree food? Don't fall for it! Your beautiful tree just wants a constant supply of fresh water, it's that simple.
It could take up to 48 hours before your tree starts to drink. If you find that your tree is not drinking after this time, try adding hot (not boiling) water to your tree stand. This will help break up any hard sap deposits that may be blocking the water intake. Where should we set up our Christmas tree?
Water your real Christmas tree every day to keep it looking plump and full. A dehydrated tree will start to droop and wilt quickly, so we recommend adding a minimum of 500ml of water a day. A real tree can absorb around 1-2 litres of water per day, however a cut tree will keep hydrated with less.
ANSWER: Indeed, there are Christmas trees available which can be kept alive and planted in the yard after the holidays are over. If you want a living Christmas tree that will look beautiful all year long, look for a potted, living Christmas tree instead of a cut tree to decorate your home this year.
Your Christmas tree needs a drink, a lot, regularly
More often than not a Christmas tree dies purely because it has not had enough water. Yes, it's true – even trees without roots require water when moved indoors (just like cut flowers) so knowing how to water a Christmas tree, and how much, is essential.
Fluff the branches
The number one strategy when it comes to making a Christmas tree look fuller is to fluff the branches. This is important whether the tree is real or artificial as the branches can become squashed during transport or, for artificial trees, during storage.
In order to keep your Christmas tree fresh, it is very important to keep the tree stand filled with water. A seal of dried sap will form over the cut stump in four to six hours if the water drops below the base of the tree, preventing the tree from absorbing water later when the tree stand is refilled.
Best Overall: Balsam Fir
The balsam fir is that all-around, classic Christmas tree. "It has a strong, 'spicy' Christmas tree scent and its conical form and dark green color make it what most people identify with as a Christmas tree," Radin says. "It also has excellent needle retention!