Keep your Christmas Tree Fresh all season long - Duke Manor Farm by Laura Janning

Keep your Christmas Tree fresh all season long with just a few simple tips including what to do when you bring your tree home.

For as long as my husband and I have been together, we have gotten a real tree each Christmas. Going out the day after Thanksgiving to get the “family tree” is a tradition in our house. Growing up my parents always put up a faux Christmas tree so how to care for a real tree was all new to me.

I was feeling nostalgic….our first Christmas together in 1998.

We ventured out yesterday to pick out the tree and got a 9-foot Noble Fir. This year we opted to skip the tree farm that we usually visit each season, and picked one up at Home Depot. Mainly to save a few bucks.

Christmas trees for sale at garden center.

Regardless if you get a tree from your favorite tree farm, tree lot, or local garden center, your Christmas tree is going to need some TLC throughout the holiday season to stay fresh till the New Year.

How to keep your Christmas Tree Fresh

Other than cutting down a tree yourself, most trees that you will see in a tree lot have been cut and transported for several weeks. There are a few tips you can do to increase the freshness of your evergreen throughout the holiday season.

Look for a green healthy tree

If you are buying from a tree lot or store, pull the tree out and give it a good look over. A promising sign is in the color. Dried-out trees will often have a light olive-colored appearance. Look for deep and vibrant green colors for your tree selection. Give the tree a good shake to make sure that needles are not dropping off right away, If they do, look for another tree.

Cut your tree straight across the bottom

Most places will cut your trunk after you purchase your tree. My chain-loving husband prefers to do that himself at home. Why is recutting the bottom so important? When a tree is first cut, air disrupts the tree’s ability to absorb water. Cutting the trunk again “primes” the tree, so it can hydrate properly.

Trunk of a Christmas tree in a tree stand with water.

Get your tree in water as soon as possible

As soon as you get the tree home, get it in water. I always fill a bucket or the tree stand so we can place it in as soon as it’s in the house. Believe it or not, trees can absorb as much as a gallon of water in the first 24 hours. So keep your tree well-hydrated. Good reminder to make sure you are drinking plenty of water too! 🙂

Place your tree in a cool spot in the room

To avoid the chance of drying out before Christmas night shows up place your tree away from direct heat sources like fireplaces, space heaters, and radiators. The heat from these sources will dry out a tree much faster than you can water it.

Close up of undecorated christmas tree in front of windows.

Consider LED lighting

I will let my tree sit and ‘fall’ overnight before decorating. When it comes to lighting, consider using LED lights for your string lights and topper. LED holiday lights emit very little heat which will help your tree from drying out. LED lights use less power so it will help with the electric bill as well.

Undecorated christmas tree in room with fireplace in the background.

We have been transitioning to LED lights over the last few years. I just finished changing out all my outdoor lighting with these lights. I love the warm white color and the bigger bulbs. Takes me back to the holiday lighting that I grew up with.

holiday mantel with nutcracker — **gold ribbon / red ribbon / brass mirror**

We are using traditional holiday reds, greens, and white this season. My mantel gives you the direction I am heading…and it makes me happy. I look forward to sharing more of my holiday home with you over the next couple of weeks. But first, it’s time to decorate the tree!