We consulted Christmas tree experts on how to keep your tree fresh for the New Year — their 4 trusted tips

We consulted Christmas tree experts on how to keep your tree fresh for the New Year — their 4 trusted tips

Key points

• Buying trees from local farms ensures that the trees are freshly cut.
• Christmas trees need fresh water added to the stand every day; no additives are necessary.
• Lights can dry out the trunk faster; LED lights emit less heat than traditional incandescent bulbs.

Decorating the Christmas tree is a beloved holiday tradition. But if you have a real Christmas tree, keeping it fresh can be a challenge.

Once a Christmas tree dries out, it will shed needles (which can be messy) and may pose a fire hazard. We consulted some experts on how to keep trees fresh during the holidays. They agreed on the basic points, including daily watering, and gave us additional tips to help your trimmed Christmas tree stay vibrant.

Choose a good tree

Keep your Christmas tree fresh for longer, starting from the moment you bring it home. Some types of trees are considered slower to dry, but this can vary from year to year depending on weather conditions. Trees with shorter needles, such as balsam fir, may dry out more quickly because their needles hold less moisture.

No matter which type of Christmas tree you choose—pine, fir, spruce, hemlock, or juniper—once it is cut, it will start to lose moisture and dry out. Choosing the freshest possible tree can reduce the likelihood of it drying out too early indoors.

Tree cultivation expert and Founder of Tradition Trees, Matt Bowman, says that sourcing trees from local farms usually ensures that the trees are fresher and healthier. He points out that large chain stores sell a huge volume of trees, which can lead to early cutting, crowded transport, rough handling, and prolonged periods without water, all of which affect the quality of the trees.

Bowman says that if you can purchase a tree from a trusted local supplier, “it makes a decisive difference.”

Tips for Watering Indoor Christmas Trees

Most people use a standard metal Christmas tree stand to secure their Christmas tree. These sturdy stands hold the tree in place with screws to prevent tipping and come with a large water reservoir.

Make sure the base of the tree is cut straight and even so that it can stand upright. If you’re unsure when the tree was cut, making a fresh, even cut at the base may help the trunk absorb water more easily.

There is a fairly common belief that adding sugar to the water in a Christmas tree stand can help the tree stay fresh longer. Other recommended additives include aspirin, corn syrup, bleach, and borax.

Baumann says this is a misconception, and the best approach is to use plain tap water. He suggests checking the water level daily to ensure it is full and using warm water for best results.

Please choose the lighting carefully

There are now more options for different types of bulbs, including LED and battery-powered lights.

Courtney Klosterman, a home insights expert at Hippo Insurance, says that a dry Christmas tree can be highly flammable, and using multiple strands of lights could pose an “obvious fire hazard.” In addition to watering regularly, she mentions that the type of lights used can greatly affect how dry the tree becomes.

Klosterman recommends using LED lights, which generate less heat than traditional incandescent bulbs. This can reduce the risk of the lights causing the tree to dry out.

To prevent the lights from drying out the tree too quickly, Klosterman advises turning them off when sleeping or leaving the house. This helps retain moisture in the tree needles and is also a good fire safety measure.

Indoor Heat and Humidity

Indoor heating can dry out the air, which also means your Christmas tree will dry out. Bowman says it’s important to avoid placing the tree near heaters, vents, or fireplaces. This not only poses a fire hazard, but high temperatures can also accelerate the drying of the trunk, causing needles to fall off and the tree to collapse.

Using a humidifier may help prevent the trunk from drying out to some extent, but most experts believe that regularly adding water to the tree stand is a more effective care tip. Cut trees are more likely to absorb water through the trunk rather than through the outer needles.