Oh, Christmas Tree!

Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree.

One of our favorite holiday traditions is going out as a family and picking just the right Christmas tree at a local Christmas tree farm and cutting it ourselves. However, over the past few years, we have discovered some tips to help our Christmas tree last through the holiday season. One thing that really helps is to spray the tree with an anti-wilt product. This minimizes needle loss and helps the tree maintain valuable moisture that it will lose being in a climate controlled home. We also put our tree up in a cooler part of the house, in front of a window and away from heating ducts. This also helps the tree retain moisture. One year we chose to get the tree with the bulb so that we could plant it in the yard after the holidays. When we did this we got a large galvanized tub to house the bulb of the tree. Depending on the bulb size and shape, it is not always easy to get the tree positioned just right. You can stabilize the tree in the center of the tub using rocks or bricks. Keep the bulb watered as often as necessary to moisten the roots but be sure to not make it soggy. It is also important to NOT apply any nutrients or fertilizer to the bulb while you have it in the house. This may initiate growth, which you do not want to occur in the dormant tree. However, once the tree is planted outside, you can use evergreen green fertilizer spikes to ensure that your holiday tree has the nutrients it need for many more Christmases to come!