Image courtesy of christoph_w
Having purchased my first real Christmas last year I was extremely excited to get it home, put it in the base and decorate it.
I loved my beautifully shaped Nordman Fir. It made me feel really quite grown up owning one. I lovingly put the lights and decorations on, positioned it perfectly in the room, put the presents under it and generally tended to its every need. Or so I thought.
I was horrified a few days later when there were more needles on the floor than there were on the actual tree. Every day more and more of my beloved tree was being converted into a rather prickly rug. The branches were drooping and it looked generally a bit brown.
I couldn’t understand why my rather pricey, well researched tree was doing this to me. What had I done wrong? It was ruining my Christmas….
Once Christmas had been and gone, and the bare branches of what was left of the tree had been recycled by the local council, I decided that real Christmas trees were a con and I’d never get one again.
Then, by chance, I was chatting to someone a number of months later who agreed with me that real Christmas trees were not for them. But their reason was that they were a real pain to maintain. Maintain? What did they mean by maintain? Once you’ve decorated it all you have to do is switch the lights on and off surely?
Apparently not.
To my surprise, you’re supposed to cut the bottom 3-5 cm’s of the tree off as soon as you buy it, ideally at an angle. You’re then supposed to water the tree every day. Water the tree?! Why didn’t someone tell me about this?
Cutting the tree allows the water to be drawn up easier and avoids the sap from the tree blocking the water, this Christmas tree genius went on to tell me.
Watering, apparently, is essential. As essential as it is for cut flowers. I had no idea.
So, this year I followed the instructions exactly. I water my lovely 6 foot Nordman Fir every morning, having cut 5 cm’s off it when I first bought it (at an angle, of course).
The difference is spectacular.
So far, six days in, virtually no needles have dropped. It hasn’t drooped and it looks as good as it did when we first bought it. Hoorah.
If, like me, you were absent from school on the day they taught you how to look after a real Christmas tree, this information may come in very handy.
Enjoy your tree – and don’t forget the water! Spread the word, and make sure you check out our Christmas tree reviews before you buy.
