medussa

Hubby and son went to pick out a tree this afternoon. They got a beautiful Frasier Fur and it's still sitting on top of the car! :x Hubby doesn't plan to set it up until tomorrow.

Won't the bottom completely sap over if we don't put it in warm water immediately?

Kurlee

I always give it water right away. It seems to drink extra at first too.

We used to put sugar in the water too. Not sure if that really does anything though. :P

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picklesgirl

it will be fine just think how long they sit at the store before they get bought. When you do go to set it up though you're going to want to cut the bottom off just like an inch maybe a little less or more and the when you put the water in the tree stand put boiling hot water in it the hot water will open up the pores of the tree...

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fig jam

Do exactly as picklesgirl said. They do drink more at first because after a while the "pores" close again. Be sure you check the water often. Don't skip the part about trimming off some of the bottom, because it won't take a drink unless you do. The "pores" are closed up when you buy the tree because the cut is an old one and it's sealed itself off.

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medussa

We always get the tree cut when we buy it and put it in water as soon as we get home. I suppose it will seal overnight again, so I will make sure to have hubby cut off some more tomorrow.

Thanks for the tip on the boiling hot water, Picklesgirl, Fig Jam.

picklesgirl

You're quite welcome... We used to get real trees every year and I remember putting hot water in it atleast every other day to keep the pores open.

My sister-in-law had heard a tip about putting green food coloring in the water to keep the tree really green yeah well her water smelled so bad you couldn't even stand by the tree so I would avoid that tip if you hear that one anywhere unless you know of someone that didn't have that problem.

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RedCatWaves

I heard a tree grower expert give a talk about xmas trees on public radio just this afternoon. He says to give it a fresh cut and immediately put it in cold water, nothing added, just fresh cold water. He said even if you cut it yourself just a half hour previously, you should give it a fresh cut at home and immediately put it in water. The sooner you give it water, the longer and better it will hold it's needles.

Boiling water makes no sense to me, because heat makes wood swell. I would think that would close off the pores faster.

Oregano (formerly babywavy)

Every year my husband does the thing with boiling water. Maybe it's a trick he heard somewhere, and he's usually pretty smart about that stuff, but honestly, our tree dries out SO fast.

A couple of years ago I remember that it was just a dry tree b/c we were CONSTANTLY watering it, yet it was always empty. It was just DRINKING up the water, but it was still so dry.

This past year the tree didn't really soak up the water well, but it dried out pretty fast.

This year I'm not gonna let him do the hot water thing and see how it works out for us.

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~ the artist formerly known as babywavy ~

Please excuse any typos. For the time being, we are blaming it on my computer.

Zinnia

I found this for live trees:

http://www.timberwindtrees.com/preserving.htm

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Zinnia

I found this for cut trees:

http://forestry.about.com/od/christm...h_cut_xmas.htm

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Life shrinks or expands according to one's courage. Anais Nin

picklesgirl

I think the thought behind the hot water trick is that it is supposed to open up the pores on the tree like steam opens up the pores on your face. You said something about hot water making wood swell but doesn't all water make wood swell?? I always thought that's how it worked but I could be wrong. I would say if the tree farmer said cool I would have tried it this year to see. I don't miss having a real tree at all it's so nice to not have to water them every day and you don't have to go get a tree every year you just bring it up from the basement

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medussa

Thanks for the links, PL.

WileE-Dead

medussa...how'd it go?

medussa

Well, other than the fact that hubby tried to trick me by buying a Balsam Fir and trying to pass it off as a Frasier Fir...

Or that the tree fell over because it's yooge (luckily, sans ornaments) ...

It all went great!

Thanks for asking.