Morning Ag Clips logo
  • Subscribe ❯
  • PORTAL ❯
  • LOGIN ❯
  • By Keyword
  • By topic
  • By state
  • Home
  • Events
  • Jobs
  • Store
  • Advertise
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Subscribe to our
    daily email
    ❯
  • Portal Registration❯
  • Login❯
  • policy
  • tractors & machinery
  • education
  • conservation
  • webinars
  • business
  • dairy
  • cattle
  • poultry
  • swine
  • corn
  • soybeans
  • organic
  • specialty crops
  • Alabama
  • Alaska
  • Arizona
  • Arkansas
  • California
  • Colorado
  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Hawaii
  • Idaho
  • Illinois
  • Indiana
  • Iowa
  • Kansas
  • Kentucky
  • Louisiana
  • Maine
  • Maryland
  • Massachusetts
  • Michigan
  • Minnesota
  • Mississippi
  • Missouri
  • Montana
  • Nebraska
  • Nevada
  • New Hampshire
  • New Jersey
  • New Mexico
  • New York
  • North Carolina
  • North Dakota
  • Ohio
  • Oklahoma
  • Oregon
  • Pennsylvania
  • Rhode Island
  • South Carolina
  • South Dakota
  • Tennessee
  • Texas
  • Utah
  • Vermont
  • Virginia
  • Washington
  • West Virginia
  • Wisconsin
  • Wyoming

Morning Ag Clips

  • By Keyword
  • By topic
  • By state
  • policy
  • tractors & machinery
  • education
  • conservation
  • webinars
  • business
  • dairy
  • cattle
  • poultry
  • swine
  • corn
  • soybeans
  • organic
  • specialty crops
  • Home
  • Events
  • Jobs
  • Store
  • Advertise
Home » Keeping your real Christmas tree fresh
CHRISTMAS TREE ... Comments

Keeping your real Christmas tree fresh

Clean water and plenty of it is the only essential ingredient for maintaining tree freshness

PUBLISHED ON November 21, 2017

As a general rule, your tree stand should hold at least 1 quart of water per inch of diameter of the tree trunk. (Photo credit: Gary Chastagner, WSU)
As a general rule, your tree stand should hold at least 1 quart of water per inch of diameter of the tree trunk. (Photo credit: Gary Chastagner, WSU)
As a general rule, your tree stand should hold at least 1 quart of water per inch of diameter of the tree trunk. (Photo credit: Gary Chastagner, WSU)

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Keeping your real Christmas tree fresh throughout the holiday season involves giving it proper care from the time you purchase it until it is disposed of. Before you set up your tree, make a fresh, straight cut across the base of the tree, removing a half-inch or more from the bottom. Why do we want to make a fresh cut? After the tree is harvested, resin begins to collect in the tree’s ducts, sealing off water-conducting tissue. Making a fresh cut removes the blocked resin and allows water to move into the trunk and eventually evaporating (transpire) from the foliage.

Cut Christmas trees absorb a surprising amount of water, particularly during the first week when they are displayed in a house. As an example, a tree with a 2-inch diameter trunk may initially use 2 quarts of water per day; a tree with a 4-inch diameter trunk may use more than 1 gallon per day.  The water capacity listed on a stand’s label or box can be misleading. Usually, they list the capacity of the reservoir when the stand is empty, but you also need to allow for the amount of water that will be displaced when the tree trunk is put in the stand. Unfortunately, many high-end decorative or antique-looking stands do not hold much water, so be sure to look at these carefully.

If the tree has been cut within the last six to eight hours, it will not need to be re-cut; however, any longer than that then the end should be re-cut to improve water uptake. Check your tree stand at least daily. Don’t let the water fall below the level of the trunk bottom. The key to keeping your tree fresh is to make sure the container holds enough water and refill it often.

One of the most common questions Michigan State University Extension educators receive concerning Christmas trees relates to the use of additives in the Christmas tree stand. Some people have seen TV or newspaper advertisements for water additives to extend tree freshness. Others have concocted their own “home remedies” with ingredients such as sugar, aspirin, bleach and 7UP. Research in Washington and North Carolina has shown that your best bet is plain tap water. Some of the home remedies such as bleach and aspirin caused heavy needle loss and should be avoided.

Dr. Cregg’s work is funded in part by MSU‘s AgBioResearch.

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit http://www.msue.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit http://www.msue.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit http://expert.msue.msu.edu, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).

— Jill O’Donnell, Michigan State University Extension, and Bert Cregg, MSU Extension, Departments of Horticulture and Forestry

For more news from Michigan, click here.

Click Here to find out more about your favorite topics

forestry holidays

Spread the word

Browse More Clips

Jamie_Clover_Adams

MAEAP verifies 22 farms in October

FMCSA issues 90-day waiver of ELD mandate

Primary Sidebar

MORE

MICHIGAN CLIPS

DeLaval Flow-Responsive™ Milking sets new standard for milking efficiency
August 7, 2022
Michigan’s farmers markets celebrate during National Farmers Market Week August 7 through 13
August 7, 2022
Strategic culling for cowherds to cope with drought or high feed costs
August 7, 2022
World Beef Expo now accepting entries for 2022
August 4, 2022
Fall is coming, and with it, Wildlife Division job openings
August 4, 2022
  • Trending
  • Latest

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE...

Challenge awards $21.5 million for forestry, fire-safety jobs training
August 7, 2022
MSU partners with NASA to learn more about trees outside of forests
August 3, 2022
Introduction to wetlands of S.C.
August 2, 2022
Help stop Spotted Lanternfly before it enters Colorado
August 1, 2022
Learn to dry hardwood lumber at Penn State Extension workshop
August 1, 2022

Footer

MORNING AG CLIPS

  • Sponsors
  • About Us
  • Advertise with Us
  • Privacy Statement
  • Terms of Service
  • Customer & Technical Support

CONNECT WITH US

  • Like Us on Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

TRACK YOUR TRADE

  • Markets & Economy
  • Cattle Updates
  • Dairy News
  • Policy & Politics
  • Corn Alerts

QUICK LINKS

  • Account
  • Portal Membership
  • Invite Your Friends
  • Subscribe to RSS
  • WeatherTrends
  • Just Me, Kate

© 2022 Morning Ag Clips, LLC. All Rights Reserved.