SELECTING AND CARING FOR YOUR CHRISTMAS TREE...

    The key to selection of a good cut Christmas tree is to make sure the tree is fresh and well shaped.  Once this is done, your maintenance practices will be important in preserving the quality of your tree through the Holiday season.  Popular trees include white pine, Fraser fir, Scotch pine, and Blue Spruce.  The white pine is soft and inexpensive with flexible branches which are more difficult to decorate.  White pine makes a beautiful tree if you have the patience in decorating. Fraser fir is the "Cadillac" of Christmas trees, costing more than a white pine.  Fraser firs retain their moisture very well and their stiff branches make the tree very easy to decorate.  Avoid an old fashioned Red Cedar unless you place the tree on a hard surface floor.  Once you get red cedar needles in carpet, you'll never walk barefooted in that room again!

    Testing for a fresh tree is fairly simple.  Simply run a branch through your hand or give the tree a gentle shake.  A small amount of needles may fall, but larger quantities may indicate that the tree was cut earlier in the fall.  Most commercial trees are cut around Thanksgiving and are perfectly fresh.  It should be noted that cut Christmas trees are a cultivated crop, so it is not environmentally bad to buy a cut tree, as it will be replaced with a seedling.  The plot of land from which the tree was harvested was more likely a non forested field prior to the planting of Christmas trees.  Therefore you are not harming the environment and you are stimulating the economy.  Cut Christmas trees are not harvested from the wild.

    We always check for a good shape of a tree, but don't overlook a couple of other considerations.  Try to envision how will the tree look after you have removed the lower boughs in order to fit the tree in the stand.  Make sure the "butt" of the tree trunk will fit in your stand.  Lastly, stand the tree up with the base perpendicular to the ground and make sure the tree is straight.  It is rare to find a tree with "curvature of the spine" but it happens.  You may wind up with a crooked tree.

    Once you have selected your tree, take it home and remove the correct amount of lower boughs.  Then use a tree saw to cut the lower 1/2 to 1" off of the base and immediately place the tree trunk in a buck of warm water.  This will allow the tree to begin drinking water again.  When a tree is cut, the tar from the base seals the cut in an act of self preservation.  If you fail to remove this seal, your tree will not consume water and will dehydrate quickly.  If you do not place the tree in water immediately after cutting the base, the tree will draw air rather than water creating an "air lock".  This air lock will yield the same results as a sealed trunk.

    Place your tree in an area away from main heat sources such as register vents or wood stoves.  Keep the lights burning a minimum amount of time prevent dehydration.  Never leave lights burning on an unattended tree as this is a terrible fire hazard.  Never leave the lights on when you go to bed.  Make sure you keep your tree watered at all times to prevent the dreaded air lock.  Lastly, if your tree becomes very dry, discontinue use of lights.  If conditions are bad enough, you may have to remove the tree from the home as it would be a fire hazard.

    Christmas tree bags are readily available to encapsulate your tree prior to removing it from the house.  This is a great idea, as a broad trail of brown needles is a rough task for a vacuum cleaner.  Have a wonderful and safe Holiday season.