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I have been asked many times: How do you get a Christmas tree to retain its needles longer?

The short answer is WATER! Before you bring the tree into the house, make a fresh cut on the trunk, remove an inch or so, then water the tree as soon as it is in the stand. A fresh tree will drink a lot of water, especially in the first few days. Make sure it never runs out of water.

The explanation for this is: the tree takes water between the outer bark and the wood of the trunk. The moisture in this layer is gummy. If the gum is exposed to air, it will dry out, harden and block the water uptake. So the fresh cut is essential and the cut won’t harden (as fast) if it is under water. Preservatives might work. I use them, but really hard to tell if they were effective or not, because eventually the tree will dry out. But I guess they can’t hurt. I have heard of other additives, like 7up or sugar. I don’t know if these would help. I doubt it.

How long will a tree last in the house: I tell customers 3 to 4 weeks for a Balsam, and a couple weeks longer for Fraser. Don’t put the tree over a hot air vent, try to keep it cool if possible.

But there is more to the story. How long the tree will last depends on many factors.

Harvest time: Trees go dormant in the fall, meaning they stop the uptake of water. For evergreens, this normally happens by early to mid November. The tree should not be cut before it is dormant, as if it was still active, you would cut off its water supply and it would dry out much more quickly. So a late warm fall could affect where the tree is in its dormant phase. Christmas will come on Dec 25, so the grower has to cut the trees early enough to get them to market in time. The big growers have to start cutting in October to process the huge number of trees.

Storage: once the tree is harvested, it needs to be stored properly until it enters the house. Keep it wrapped. Shelter the tree from wind and sun, and keep it as cold as possible. Ideally frozen. If the tree is frozen, it will be well preserved, just like a steak in the freezer. DO NOT put the trunk in water if the water might freeze. This could damage the water absorbing layer and it will never take water. My brother did this once, and the needles completely fell off in a week.

Growing conditions: If the tree has been stressed during its growing season, such as drought or heat, the tree may not be as healthy as it looks and may not last as long. Unfortunately there is nothing you can do about this.

So when selecting a tree from a tree lot, try to find out when it was cut. After mid November is ideal. If the branches and needles are soft, that is a good indication the tree has not dried out. You can buy it early, just store it as mentioned until you bring it into the house. The tree really only starts to dry out when it is exposed to the heat.

Wrapping: I have a pet peeve on this. A tightly wrapped tree will retain its moisture really well.  The commercial tree lots remove the wrapping, and display the trees usually in an open area in the sun and wind. This starts the drying process right away, even if it is cold. It might help to see what the tree looks like, but it reduces the life span of the tree. I sell almost all of my precut trees wrapped. We open a few for display, but even wrapped you can get a good idea of the shape of the tree. Wrapping makes transport easier and prevents any damage that could occur handling an unwrapped tree.

Summary: How to keep the needles from falling? Select a healthy looking tree, cut late, properly stored. When you bring it into the house, make a fresh cut on the trunk, and keep it watered. Then enjoy the beauty and fragrance of a fresh, natural Christmas tree. And don’t worry if it loses some needles: your vacuum cleaner will smell great!