Maintaining Your Christmas Tree

Looking for a dense, lush, and green tree for Christmas? A fraser fir tree is a great candidate for all of those. This gorgeous looking tree serves for a classic Christmas look and is a great for decorating. Goffle Brook Farms is in stock with many fraser firs for you to choose from, so come and see our selection of trees and other goods sometime soon! Here are some tips for maintaining any Christmas tree you purchase so you can have a nice green tree all month!

The main key to longevity in any Christmas tree is in the health of the tree you choose. When selecting a tree, make sure the tree is not dry or already losing it’s needles. When shaken, the tree should not lose too many needles if it is still healthy. Also check the smell of the tree, and make sure there is no musty smell. A healthy tree will last about a month, give or take a few days, enough to last the entire month of December.

Fraser Fir - Goffle Brook Farms

When transporting your tree, make sure to keep the tree wrapped on the trip home. When driving on highways or at higher speeds, the tree can be damaged from needles flying off of the tree, making your tree look more bare than it was when you bought it. Also make sure your tree is tied with the bottom facing forward and make sure the tree is tied down and secured well before driving.

When you get your tree home, you don’t want it to dry out before putting it up. So if you’re leaving your tree outside for a bit, make sure to not leave it out too long, as it can cause drying in the tree rapidly, ruining the tree. If you can’t bring your tree indoors immediately, simply make a 1 inch fresh cut on the bottom of the tree and place in water, either outdoors or indoors.

Before setting up your tree, cut one or possibly another inch from the trunk before displaying the tree in your home. The cut should be straight and not at an angle. Make sure that before you buy your tree, that your trunk has enough space to be cut off and used as a handle for the stand. If not, you may have to cut the bottom set of branches off the tree, resulting in a worse look for the tree. This also can occur if you purchase a tree to big, so make sure to take measurements.
Keeping your Christmas tree from drying is another important step you’ll have to take to keep your tree going all month. First, for placement, keep your tree away from any heaters/heat sources that might accelerate the drying rate of the tree.  Doing so will also decrease the amount of water you need for your tree.
 Also, your tree stand should always be filled with water. Fraser Fir - Goffle Brook FarmsThe water should always be above the base of the tree, if it isn’t, dried sap forms over the bottom of the stump and will obstruct water from getting into the tree. This can be fixed by simply making another small cut on the tree and using hot water only when you put the tree back up. Switch back to cold water once hot water is absorbed. Christmas trees can absorb a gallon of water on the first day it is cut. After that, it goes down to about a quart or more everyday. Keeping water in the tree is another key step, and you should maintain the water to prevent needles from falling off your tree, and to keep the tree from becoming droopy and remain fragrant. Your tree’s pan of water should not ever go empty, or else sap will form and it will dry out quickly.

So if you’re still looking for a tree this year, look no further than Goffle Brook Farms. Our fraser firs will easily last from now to the end of December if well maintained, and they will provide for a great, Christmas aesthetic within your home. fraser firs are great to have because of their authentic Christmas smell and look, and they’re also great for decoration and look great when finished. fraser firs also have some of the best needle retention of any Christmas trees, so they are top pick among many.

Bergen County’s Best Kept Gardening Secret

Goffle Brook Farms – Garden Center/Farmer’s Market

423 Goffle Road Ridgewood,NJ 07450
(201) 652-7540