Real Xmas tree advice

andrewf75

I think getting a good tree can be a bit hit and miss, but that’s part of the festive fun isn’t it? I guess it depends what you’ve grown up with but I’ve never had a fake one and I think I’d not bother at all before going down that route.

Might look into a potted one this year though..

Davesnave

Fake ones have their place, but even when we lived in the city, it always seemed worth a Saturday morning to take the kids up onto the Mendips where there was a farm that did trees as a side line.

There, people could buy from the yard if they were in a hurry, or they could hang around till the tractor & trailer returned. We always waited, because the children liked the bumpy ride across the fieldsand sloshing through great puddles of mud more than picking the tree!

Fire_Fox

Consider how close to the radiator/ heater your Xmas tree will be and how much you heat your house or the tree's temporary home (room).

If your heating is off during work hours and at night, or the tree is in a less frequently used/ much cooler (say) dining room, it will be easier to keep it hydrated and healthy looking. But if your young family is home all day, you have one living area that is used and heated continuously, it may be more difficult to keep a real tree happy and healthy. In that case don't buy your tree too early.

HTH!

x_raphael_xx

Don't do what my ex did, and drag it out the house by its base after xmas. It was too wide for the doorway, but she dragged it thru anyway and EVERY SINGLE needle was pinged off as the branches brushed through.


Killed our vacuum.


I usually wrap the dead tree in a quilt cover to limit needle droppage on removal.

lewishardwick

There are different types of tree.
Norway Spruce - Classic, nice pine smell, will drop needles rapidly if not watered.
Norman Fir - The more popular choice. Drops less needles. Needles are softer, but longer than Norway Spruce. Less aromatic
Blue Spruce & Fraser Fir - The posh ones! The least likely to drop needles. Expensive.

All trees will drop needles if not cared for properly. Whichever you buy, you need to chop a few cm off the bottom of the stump and let it have a good drink, ideally outside. Avoid putting near a radiator. The needles will dry out and drop!

If you get a specific tree stand, I'd avoid the plastic ones, you'll never get the tree 'just right'. Bearing that in mind, remember it's a natural product, it won't be perfect, enjoy that fact!

If you go to Homebase/Bunnings/B&Q, please, please have some sympathy for the staff. They earn very little and have to be out in the cold for hours, opening tree after tree so little Tarquin can have a perfect Christmas.

Oh! Do have a plan hot to get it home!!

- A former Homebase employee

DigForVictory

We had a real tree one Christmas & I'm told it smelled glorious. We were still hoovering needles up months later.
It looked wonderful, we got a heavy stand & spent happy ages trying to pin it upright - the lads piled baubles onto it repeatedly when the tree fell over & thought it all wonderful.

We went with an artificial tree the next year & to be honest, other than the smell, the lads are not that fussed about the difference.

Whatever you go for, enjoy it to the hilt & be ready to change plans next year?!

MX5huggy

Nothing but a real one for me.

Make sure you choose a really big one, once you get them in and decorated they always look smaller than you expected.