Care and Disposal of
Christmas Trees
Since so much time and effort
is put into selecting the perfect Christmas tree, it
follows that similar consideration should also be
given to giving the tree the best possible care.
Otherwise, there will be disappointment if needles
start to brown or turn yellow, or branches begin to
break with days or weeks to go before the season is
over. Safety is also an important reason to take
proper care of your Christmas tree because a drying
Christmas tree also presents a
grave danger as a fire hazard. The average Christmas
tree should last for about five to six weeks if the
proper care is given to it.
After selecting a Christmas tree and getting it
home, the first thing that should be done is to make
a fresh cut and place it into a stand with water. A
Christmas tree shouldn't be mounted dry and the
water in its stand should be replenished regularly.
A fresh cut is made by cutting about an inch off the
bottom in a slight diagonal shape to help the
absorption of water. If a fresh cut isn't going to
be made immediately after getting the tree home, it
should be placed in a container with water and left
to stand in a shaded area that is away
from the wind.
If a fresh cut isn't made and the Christmas tree is
left exposed to air, the vessels for transporting
water can become blocked. If this happens, another
fresh cut can correct the problem and the tree would
need to be immediately put in a container with
water.
Your Christmas tree should be secure in its stand
and it should be placed away from open flames or
sources of heat such as furnaces, fireplaces and air
vents, all of which may dry it out. Decoration of
the tree should also begin after it has been mounted
in its stand. Several decoration precautions should
be taken to lessen or avoid the Christmas tree being
a fire hazard.
Ornaments that have an open flame or candles should
never be used for decoration. Christmas tree lights
should be checked to make sure the bulbs are working
properly, the connections are intact and that no
part of the cord is damaged. If there appears to be
any exposed wiring or bulbs that are not working or
which are working intermittently, that string of
Christmas tree lights shouldn't be used.
A good Christmas tree stand should be selected since
water is the most
important item to getting the longest life out of
your Christmas tree. In selecting a stand, find out
the amount of water it can hold when a tree is
placed in it. Some water will be displaced from the
space taken up by the base of the tree so it is
important that a selection is not made based on the
total volume of water the stand can hold.
According to the National Christmas Tree
Association, the average Christmas tree may absorb
up to one gallon of water each day. It is therefore
important to check the water everyday and replenish
it accordingly. To make sure your Christmas tree
gets enough water, the Association recommends that
one quart of water is required for each inch of the
diameter of the tree's trunk.
After Christmas is over and your wonderfully
decorated Christmas tree has provided much joy, it
is important to remove it before it dries out.
Options to discard your Christmas will likely depend
on the services offered by your municipality. Some
municipalities will pick up Christmas trees on
particular days, with a cut-off date. Some towns may
require that residents take their trees to specific
locations, while in others Christmas trees will be
picked up with the garbage, again up to a certain
date. But Christmas trees should never be burned in
the fireplace as it can cause the build up of
creosote, a colorless, oily substance.
There's also the choice that you can continue to get
a different use from your Christmas tree by cutting
it to pieces yourself and be environmentally
sensitive by using it for mulch.