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How to keep the needles on your Christmas tree through the holiday season

One of the hallmarks of a North Carolina-grown Fraser fir, marketed as “The Cadillac of Christmas Trees,” is its longevity once it’s been cut.

Travis Birdsell, Ashe County Extension director, said keeping a tree fresh begins with property management of the crop in the field.

To “set” the tree’s needles, making sure they will hold to the branches as long as possible, growers must wait to harvest trees until there have been at least three nights of temperatures below 42 degrees.

“We don’t get to pick when that happens,” Birdsell said. “It could be in October or not until November. But once that happens, the tree can be cut and if it’s given proper water, it will be fresh through the New Year even if it was cut before Thanksgiving.”

How the trees are handled after they’re harvested makes a difference, too, Birdsell said. While waiting to be sold, they should be kept cool and preferably out of direct sunlight.

Once a shopper chooses a tree, industry experts say, they should:

Untie the tree and shake it to dislodge any old needles that weren’t removed at the farm or by the vendor. A healthy tree sheds needles every year, and those need to be freed on the porch, not on your carpet.

Cut off the bottom two inches of the trunk to remove hardened sap that could block the tree’s water intake. Measure the diameter of the trunk before putting the tree into its stand.

Place the tree near a window if possible, and away from heat sources such as fireplaces. If the tree is placed near a heat vent, close the vent.

Once in the stand and in place, add one quart of water for every inch of the trunk’s diameter.

Refill the well of the tree stand daily to keep the bottom 2” of the trunk immersed in water for as long as the tree remains on display.

If desired, add a commercial Christmas tree preservative to the water. Additives such as sugar, aspirin or vodka offer no proven benefit.

If possible, use LED light strings instead of incandescent ones. LEDs are cooler and will contribute to less drying of the tree.

Take the tree down before it dries out. If it feels dry, is turning brown or dropping a lot of needles, it may be time to call it a year.