8 Mistakes To Avoid When Buying And Caring For A Christmas Tree

Choosing the Christmas tree is a highlight of the festive season, with the whole family often taking part.

However, make the wrong choice and your tree will be a source of disappointment throughout the holidays. By the time Christmas has arrived, it may have already dried up and dropped most of its needles.

Good Christmas tree care is vital to making it last – too many people neglect their tree once it is decorated. To keep a Christmas tree alive until New Year it needs the right conditions and regular watering.

Once the holidays are over, proper Christmas tree disposal is important to ensure you are not negatively impacting on the environment.

Avoid these common pitfalls when buying and caring for your tree, and it will be the focal point of your natural Christmas decorations.

Don’t make the mistake of buying a tree that’s been sitting round the yard for too long. If the tree is dull in color or has lost its shine, then it has been out of the ground for too long. 

‘A sticky and resinous at the bottom of the tree shows that the pine is still fresh,’ says Tom Su, gardening expert and owner of Lawn Edging.

Also avoid a tree that seems to be dropping a lot of needles when you’re examining it. If it is more than a few, don’t buy.

Compare the weights of similar sized trees on sale. Fresh, good quality trees will normally be heavier.

Bear in mind that if you’re buying from a store, rather than directly from the grower, then most trees are cut and shipped at the same time. In that scenario, it is better to buy your tree early, rather than later, so you can get more use out of it.

A pre-wrapped or netted tree can’t be properly examined and when you unwrap it at home, you might find it is too wide, too tall, or an odd, uneven shape.

‘Choosi