by L.S. Watts

Created on: December 08, 2010

Knowing what to look for when choosing a live Christmas tree is essential for having a beautiful Christmas tree to last the entire holiday season. There is more to picking the perfect live Christmas tree than you think. Here are some things to consider when trying to narrow the field on buying or cutting down your next live Christmas tree.

Types of Trees

Most Christmas trees are typically firs, long needle pines, or spruces. Knowing which tree will be perfect for your needs can be rather tricky. Some needles dry out faster than others. Hemlock is not a good choice because its needles began falling off shortly after it is cut. Spruce needles tend to dry out more quickly than pines.

Freshness

A truly fresh tree will not only look green and healthy, but will have very few needles that have started to brown. Don’t let first glance fool you either. Look at the underside of the branch to see if browning of the needles is beginning.  Patting the branches is a way to check to see if any needles fall to the ground. You can also grab the branch and gently pull toward you. This is to check to see if any needles easily come off the tree. If so, chances are the tree isn’t fresh and won’t last the holiday season.

Another way to check the freshness of your potential Christmas tree is to gently bend the tips. If the tip doesn’t crack or break you generally have a fresh tree that may be worth taking home.  

Something else to consider is the aroma. The stronger the aroma the fresher the tree is. If you have trouble smelling the tree initially, you can stoke the needles and then smell. It’s kind of like scratch and sniff for Christmas trees. If you can smell the aroma, chances are the tree is fresh. The Canaan fir and the Frasier fir is a good tree with an amazing aroma.

Also the weight of the tree is an important indicator. Since the trees are fifty percent water, if the tree is light weight you can bet it isn’t a fresh tree.

Size

Looks can be deceiving. Although a tree may look small, in many cases it is bigger than you think. It is always a good idea to measure the space you plan to put your Christmas tree before going out to look for one. Having the height and width of the area will help to ensure that the tree you will be bringing home will fit in the space it is intended to go it. Besides, the price of the tree depends on the size of the tree. Why would you want to spend all that money on a ten foot tree when you only have room

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