The holiday season is upon us, and we here at Westcoast Tree Care would like to wish you and your families a wonderful Thanksgiving. We hope that your time with family and friends is filled with happiness and joy.
After the celebrations many of us will embark on the first days of holiday shopping. Many of us will also ring in the holiday season by venturing out and choosing a Christmas tree.
With a little Christmas tree care your home will be filled with the unmistakable scent of the holidays for weeks to come.
Today we’ve put together a few recommendations to help you in choosing and maintaining your tree for all of your holiday gatherings and celebrations.
Christmas Tree Care Step One:
Be sure to check the color of your tree. If it is overly brown then you should avoid it.
Run your hands along some of the branches. Your tree should have some spring and few needles should come off. Likewise, if you notice a lot of brown needles about the base of the tree it is probably best to avoid.
In both cases the tree may have been cut quite some time ago and may not have been properly watered.
Christmas Tree Care Step Two: Prep
It is best to make a fresh cut to the base of the tree trunk to aid in its absorption of water. Often times your tree seller will gladly make a fresh base cut for you at no additional charge.
Find a location for your tree that is free from heating ducts or other forms of heat. This will help your tree to last longer and mitigate fire hazards.
Christmas Tree Care Step Three: Watering
Christmas trees need daily watering to maintain their fragrance and to keep them from drying out. Christmas trees can take in quite a bit of water and it’s not unusual for a Christmas tree to drink up to a gallon of water per day.
Christmas Tree Care Step Four: Disposing
There are number of ways to dispose of your Christmas tree. Most communities offer Christmas tree recycling and will either have drop off centers or specially designated days when you can set out your tree curbside for pick-up.
Other ways to dispose of your tree include cutting up the tree and storing the logs and branches for next year. This can make for a fragrant fire next holiday season.
You can also simply cut up the branches for a spring time garden mulch.
The Take Away
Westcoast Tree Care wishes you and your family and your friends a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday! When venturing out in the ensuing days to find that perfect Christmas tree be sure to remember our suggestions: test your tree for dryness, ensure you have a fresh base cut, water daily, and avoid heating ducts and other sources of heat.
These simple steps will ensure you enjoy your tree throughout the holiday season.
