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Hunting for the Perfect Christmas Tree By Melissa J. Wantuck  |
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 Now that Thanksgiving leftovers have been finished off, the Christmas decorations are coming out of storage and you’re about to start looking for the perfect tree to fit underneath your tree topper.
Before you head to the tree lots or tree farms, start thinking about the type of tree you’ll want. Perhaps you’ll be surprised to learn there are many types of trees commonly grown for use as Christmas Trees and of the three basic types, each are different and those differences will affect how it looks in your home and how you care for it.
The three basic types of trees used as Christmas trees are firs, spruces and pines.
Firs
Firs are a deep green tree with soft needles and are the best scented. The downside is their soft branches don’t hold heavy ornaments very well. Firs need to be well-watered for longevity. Here are four common types of firs: Douglas, Balsam, Concolor and Frazier. Balsam is the most well-known scent that you’ve probably seen in candle jars and incense. If you walk into someone’s house and smell a Christmas Tree, it’s probably a fir.
Spruces
Spruces are colorful trees characterized by their short, sharp needles, and strong branches that are good for holding heavy ornaments. Their weakness is they lose needles faster because they have lower sap content. Having a spruce as your Christmas Tree will require constant monitoring of the water reserve to make sure the tree doesn’t dry out. The Norway spruce is a vibrant green color, the Blue spruce is as its name suggests, and the White spruce is a lighter green.
Pines
Pines have long needles that stay on the tree the longest because of higher sap content in these trees. However, pines are not as full as firs or spruces. They do have fairly stiff branches for heavy ornaments and the branches are spaced farther apart giving more room for the ornaments to hang. Of the Scotch and Austrian pines, the Austrian has the longest needles.
Pre-Cut vs Cut Your Own
Cutting your own tree is preferred over buying a pre-cut tree. With pre-cut, you’ll never know for sure when the tree was cut. The longer it’s been, the harder it will be to take care of your tree. When a tree is cut, the sap hardens at the bottom of the trunk, sealing it off from the water you try to give it. When you cut the tree, you’ll be getting it in water right away, so there will only be a little bit of hardening.
Care
Before you put your tree in your home, set it outside and let any snow on it drip off. When it’s dry, cut off at least two inches for pre-cuts, less if you cut it yourself, from the bottom of the trunk to remove the sealed end. Next cut into the bottom of the trunk about a quarter to half an inch and make a grid pattern of cross cuts, two to three each way depending on the thickness of the trunk. Then, slice into the sides of the trunk at the bottom, no more than a quarter of an inch deep, making about three to four cuts. These extra cuts will open up the trunk and give your tree more area for the water to get in.
Plan to water your tree both morning and night, depending on the size of your tree stand. Check the tree regularly and water more or less, whichever is required to keep the fresh supply of water.
Don’t put your tree over or too close to a heat source as it will dry it out faster.
Keeping the tree well-watered will keep it lasting longer and less chance of it drying out and the needles falling off.
Enjoy your perfect Christmas Tree!
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