How do I choose and look after a real Christmas tree?

A real tree is a cut plant that is still trying to draw water. Almost everything about keeping one looking well follows from that, and almost every tree that drops badly was allowed to run dry in the first few days.

Safety

Step by step

1. Choose the species for needle retention.Nordmann fir holds its needles well and has soft foliage — the usual choice. Norway spruce is the traditional smell and the classic shape but drops far more. Fraser fir is a good middle option with a strong scent.
2. Check it is fresh before buying.Run a hand along a branch — a few needles is normal, a shower is not. Tap the base on the ground; heavy drop means it was cut weeks ago. The cut end should look pale rather than dry and grey.
3. Measure the ceiling before you go.And remember the stand adds height and the topper adds more. Trees look considerably smaller outdoors than in a living room.
4. Cut the base before it goes in the stand.Saw 2-3cm straight off the bottom. The cut end seals with resin within hours of being cut, and a fresh cut is what lets it take up water at all. This is the step that matters most.
5. Get it into water within a couple of hours.The clock starts as soon as you cut. If it will stand outside for a day first, put it in a bucket of water there.
6. Use a proper water-holding stand.A stand with a reservoir, not a bucket of sand or a decorative pot. The trunk needs to sit in water continuously, and the stand needs to hold at least a couple of litres.
7. Top it up every single day.A fresh tree can drink a litre or more a day in the first week. If the reservoir runs dry even once, the base reseals and the tree stops drinking permanently — which is the usual cause of a tree that dies in ten days.
8. Keep it away from heat.Not next to a radiator, a wood burner or in direct sun through a window. Heat dries it out faster than anything else and shortens its life dramatically.
9. Skip the additives.Sugar, aspirin, lemonade and bleach have all been recommended and none of them reliably beats plain water. Frequency of topping up matters far more than what is in the reservoir.
10. Let it settle before decorating.Bring it in, put it in water and leave it a day for the branches to drop into position. Decorating immediately means rearranging everything the next morning.
11. Turn the lights off when you leave the room.Fire risk aside, lights add heat directly into the branches and dry the tree faster. Use a timer.
12. Plan the disposal in advance.Most councils collect real trees in January or take them at recycling centres, and many charities collect for a donation. A tree in a bag by the bin is not usually taken.

Tips

• A tree bag placed under the stand before you decorate makes removal in January enormously less messy.
• Buy from somewhere that cuts fresh rather than a forecourt where trees have stood netted for weeks. Freshness at purchase sets the ceiling on how long it lasts.
• A potted tree with roots can go outside afterwards and be reused, but it needs to come indoors for no more than about ten days or it breaks dormancy.

Common mistakes

• Not cutting the base before standing it up — The original cut has sealed over with resin and the tree cannot draw water at all. It will dry out within days however much water is in the stand.
• Letting the reservoir run dry — The base reseals within hours and the tree stops drinking permanently. One missed day in the first week is usually the whole difference.

If it doesn't work

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