Real Xmas tree advice
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JuzaMum
Posts: 658 Forumite
I have never had a real Xmas tree but as I threw the many years old artificial one away after last Xmas I have decided to get a real one this year.
When do you buy one if you want it looking good one Xmas day?
What should I look for when buying?
I assume I need a stand.
Any hints and suggestions please?
(Sorry for mentioning the C word so early)
When do you buy one if you want it looking good one Xmas day?
What should I look for when buying?
I assume I need a stand.
Any hints and suggestions please?
(Sorry for mentioning the C word so early)
0
Comments
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As close to Christmas day as you are willing to wait, subject to (a) the retailers having any good ones left and (b) enjoying it before you have to take all the decorations off and find out how to dispose of it.When do you buy one if you want it looking good one Xmas day?
Has it been kept outside (good) or indoors (bad)?What should I look for when buying?
Does it look wilted or dry?
If you give it a shake do any needles fall off?
Don't be conned by 'special' trees which claim to last forever.
And most importantly!!! Measure up your house before you go shopping so you know how big (height and girth) you need. No point coming home with a 12 foot Christmas tree if you want to have it indoors.
(and if you aren't sure about 'feet' have both imperial and metric measurements written down)
You can use a stand, but many people use a bucket (from 99p) filled with sand or soil. The advantage of a bucket is it has a use on the other 364 days, whereas a stand doesn't.I assume I need a stand.
Stick with an artificial tree, much less hassle?Any hints and suggestions please?
Or consider buying a potted tree which you can plant in the garden and enjoy year after year?
You are not forgiven.(Sorry for mentioning the C word so early):) "In the future, everyone will be rich for 15 minutes"0 -
2 years ago we spent ages driving around for "the perfect tree". All we were left with was a headache. They are so expensive!
Last year we went to Bunnings and bought a £25 tree. It was brilliant. Our is quite squat (it needed to go on top of a unit) but fanned out well and had lots of arms.
It's been in a pot in the garden all year and has thrived. We will be dressing the same tree up this year.
Don't be fooled by the most expensive being better. They are often not better, just bigger.0 -
I would recommend a stand, you can add water to them and keep the tree as hydrated as possible, it's amazing how much they "drink".
Once you've bought it, store it outside for a day or so in a bucket of water. Make sure you know where it's going and that access is good - perhaps don't undo the netting until it's inside.
We usually buy ours after the first week of December with a view to having it up by 10th or so (we have holiday cottages and each has it's own fresh tree). They can be expensive but we have the bonus of having a great local supplier who will do Nordmann Firs for £25 - £35 depending on height. Our reception has one that stands 12-14ft and we've not paid more than £30 for it. They last well and have negligible drop (needles). Try and find a good local supplier and not perhaps an expensive garden centre.0 -
We got ours the first week in December last year and it lasted till the new year with very few dropped needles until the last couple of days.
We got a frazer Fir from a local christmas tree farm. You go into the plantation, choose which one you want and they cut it down for you. It's a good trip out if you have kids and gets them into the christmas spirit.
Make sure you give it plenty of water. Ours base holds 3 litres of water and we had to top up at least a litre a day for the first couple of weeks. It did drink less as time went on.
Also, if your tree isn't freshly cut, saw about an inch off the base of the tree when you get it home - it'll help it soak up water and live longer.0 -
If you have some outside space go for a potted tree, Honestly after the summer we and the dutch have had you wont get a decent cut tree this year, they will all be weighing light so even non-drop trees will likely drop needles this year. The modern artificial tree have gotten really good on the pricey side but you soon recoup the cost after a couple of years.
If your adamant for a cut tree then get a water stand ( something like quickstand 8) and keep the tree sitting in water the biggest mistake people make is not watering their tree, you need to treat it the same as a vase of cut flowers.
un net the tree as soon as you can so you don't distort the shape0 -
We've bought a 4 foot potted tree from Asda for £20 the last few years. We do put it on a stand (was £5) to protect the floors - this has the advantage of bringing up the height to 5 foot too so it doesn't look small. Chuck in a jug of water every few days and it never drops anything. We put it outside in January and it lasted until the hot summer in June!0
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Do you have an Ikea near you?
They usually sell low drop ones for £25 and give you a £20 voucher to spend in store (to use after Christmas I think)
We usually put it up around two weeks before Christmas in a stand that holds water.
Jut looked it up in store from 22nd november. They are Nordman Fir and the voucher can be spent in store between Mon 4 Feb and Mon 1 Apr next year0 -
We used to buy a real tree every Xmas, kept in a stand and kept watered, bought the "no needle drop" variety but still cursed the needle drop. Many years ago we bought a good fake one, in the after Xmas sales so was really cheap, you'd be hard pressed to tell it from a real one, and each year we dismantle and box it, following year it takes about an hour to unbox and erect it.
Don't have to worry about granddaughter getting a tree needle stuck into her, or having to clear the dropped needles daily.0 -
Our rather elderly artificial tree is dropping its needles...No longer a spouse, or trailing, but MSE won't allow me to change my username...0
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Christmas trees are about the one thing I don't have to travel for. They're just down the lane and I'm friends with the grower, so if I want to, I can cut my own when I want it.
That won't be until around 20th December, because Christmas and New Year needs concentrating into about 2 weeks, or it won't be special.
I have a heavy duty sheep lick bucket into which I place the tree, surrounded by 30cm lengths of hazel about 40-50mm diameter. Once its stabilised in roughly the right position, I add grit, which locks it in. Then, when it's in the house, I add water. I go through this palaver because I find the metal tree stands useless with the trees we have.
Even with a wood burner going in the room where it is, we don't usually have much needle drop. I'll probably pick a tree from close to the river this year, but my wife will have the real say in which one gets the chop....she always does!0
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