Extending the life of your cut Christmas Tree

Question from Jill:

Hi Pat – ‘Tis the season. We just purchased our Christmas tree. We would have preferred to cut a tree ourselves but the opportunity was not available to us. Instead, we purchased our tree from a respectable nursery. How do you recommend watering or feeding your tree to keep it green and beautiful as long as possible? Do I follow the same advise as you provide in your book for cut flowers? Thank you for your time!

Answer from Pat:

For over 45 years of marriage and a few years thereafter I purchased cut trees. Now I use a small fake (but artistically shaped) tree given to me by a friend. It’s similar in shape to a miniature giant redwood and it suits me fine. Despite years of using this tree, I still remember exactly what I did with my freshly cut Christmas trees.

First, I would choose a tree that was as fresh as I could find. Along with the tree I also purchased a bottle of tree preservative, a liquid product sold at most tree outlets. I mixed this into a bucket of water according to package directions. Then I used a saw to saw off a slice of wood off the bottom of the trunk about 1/2 inch thick. This was never difficult to do. My husband, a lawyer and then a judge, was not handy so I did all this myself. Next I attached the tree holder to the trunk and set the tree upright to make sure it stood straight. I carried it into the house, stood it upright and poured the solution of tree preservative into the dish made for this purpose in the tree holder. Keep the rest in the bucket in the garage, covered with aluminum foil to keep it fresh. Add some solution daily.

If you don’t want to buy the tree preservative or if you forgot to do so, you can make your own but it’s much easier to use the bottled kind. Yes, it is similar to flower preservative but makes a larger quantity. The home made formula is as follows: To one gallon water add 2 Tablespoons sugar, 4 teaspoons lemon juice and 4 teaspoons bleach. Or alternatively, mix the bleach into a gallon of water and pour in bottle of Seven-Up or Sprite.

My trees lasted extremely well. I seldom ran out of solution but if so I switched to clear water and added that. The tree would take in a great deal of solution for the first day or so and then much less. Sometimes I flocked my trees myself.