Tree Care Guide
Nothing captures the feeling of the holiday season more than the fragrant scent of a real Christmas tree. Here at Appleton Christmas Barn, we offer the finest and freshest trees available. Our selection includes 5 different varieties of cut trees and 2 varieties of potted trees. To help ensure that your real tree will last throughout the Christmas season we’ve put together the following tips:
Hydration
Maintaining a well-hydrated tree is essential for its vitality during the holiday season. Select a robust stand capable of holding a generous amount of water. It's crucial to ensure that your Christmas tree is consistently immersed in water, so choosing a stand with a sufficient well is paramount. If you do not own a fresh cut tree stand, now would be the time to purchase one. We have a great selection in-stock, which you can view here.
Monitor your tree's water supply daily; you may be amazed at its considerable thirst, as it can consume up to two to three pints a day! To promote the well-being of the needles, ensure that the tree's trunk remains adequately submerged. If the cut part of the base is exposed to air, it will dry up and be unable to absorb any more water and a new cut will need to be made (bit of a hassle when you have all the decorations on it), otherwise the needles of the tree will begin to wilt and fall off.
Heat (or rather lack of)
Place the tree away from radiators or heat sources, and if you have underfloor heating, consider turning it off in the zone where the tree is placed. Christmas trees dry out with heat, so whilst warmth is a wonderful part of Christmas from a good fire to a nice blanket, your tree might disagree.
When you purchase your Christmas tree, it is actually in its domant stage. By bringing your tree inside, where it is nice and cosy, you're bringing the tree out of its domancy as it believes it has become spring, so starts dropping it's needles in preparation for the new season. Try avoid letting the room in which you're keeping your tree from getting too warm for too long.
Plant
After Christmas, pot grown trees can either be planted out with a very good chance of success or they can be left to grow on in a pot for a few years. When taking your pot grown tree out after Christmas, ideally put it garage or porch to allow it to acclimatize. Check the root system on your tree to see if it needs re-potting into a larger container ready for new growth in the spring. Make sure you keep your pot grown tree well watered during prolonged dry, hot spells.
Disposal
Many charities, garden centres and local Councils offer Christmas tree collection services, where used Christmas trees can picked up and recycled. We recommend that trees are disposed of in this way as it is the most environmentally friendly option.