Choosing the Best Christmas Tree

Cassie Homan, Horticulture Agent

Christmas is just around the corner! Now is a perfect time to pick out your fresh cut Christmas Tree. Fresh cut trees are such a fun tradition and will have your house smelling like the holidays all season long. If you have never chosen a real Christmas Tree here are some great tips on what to look for.

When selecting a tree, look for these signs that the tree might be too far gone:

• Needles are a dull, grayish-green color
• Needles feel stiff and brittle
• Needles pull easily off tree
• Needles fail to ooze pitch (sticky substance) when broken apart and squeezed

Once you have your tree home, recut the trunk about one inch above the original cut. This will open up clogged, water-conducting tissues. Immediately place the trunk in warm water.

Locate the tree in as cool a spot as possible. Avoid areas near fireplaces, wood-burning stoves and heat ducts as the heat will result in excess water loss. Make sure the reservoir stays filled. If the reservoir loses enough water that the bottom of the trunk is exposed, the trunk will need to be recut. Adding aspirin, copper pennies, pop, sugar and bleach to the water reservoir have not been shown to prolong the life of a tree.

If you choose a living Christmas tree, be sure to dig the planting hole before the ground freezes. Mulch the hole and backfill soil to keep them from freezing. Live trees should not be kept inside for more than three days. Longer periods may cause them to lose dormancy resulting in severe injury when planted outside. You may wish to tag the tree at the nursery and then pick it up a couple days before Christmas. After Christmas, move the tree to an unheated garage for several days to acclimatize it to outside temperatures. After planting, water well and leave some mulch in place to prevent the soil water from freezing and becoming unavailable for plant uptake.

After the holidays, many municipalities allow old Christmas trees to be placed curbside. Trees are then collected and ground up for mulch or burned. If you miss the designated date, or your trash collector doesn't accept trees, there are several options to prolong the useful life of the tree.

Sinking your Christmas tree in a pond is an easy way to improve fish habitat and fishing. The tree serves as little coral reef, in that the branches provide substrate for water plants to grow, and cover for minnows and other forms of small aquatic life. Larger fish are drawn by the shade and the presence of prey. How do you sink a tree? Tie the base to a cinder block with a short, stout rope, and toss it in. Just be sure to get permission from the pond owner first.

You can also use the little tree around the landscape. This requires clipping off all of the branches then using the boughs to add extra insulation around semi-hardy perennials or to trees and shrubs that were recently planted. The leftover trunk may be used as a garden stake next spring.

Another common use is to simply cut the tree up for wood. Let it dry for a few weeks, and you will have some easy lighting firewood. Just beware that most conifer species tend to spark and pop more than hardwoods, as resin pockets in the wood make tiny explosions. This can delight the youngsters, but for safety's sake, keep an eye on the fire when burning Christmas tree logs!

Have some fun this holiday season by choosing a fresh cut tree. If you would like more details about caring for Christmas trees contact Cassie Homan, Post Rock District Horticulture Agent, at (785)738-3597 or by email at choman@ksu.edu.