Every black Friday it’s a tradition with my wife’s family to go out and cut a Christmas tree at a local tree farm. This year it was very cold and windy and we have a little girl who was getting very fussy so we didn’t stay out long in the fields, we ended up buying a pre-cut Fraser Fir instead. They always trim a little off the bottom just before they net it up for transport and when I get home I always cut a little bit more off before I put it in the stand with water. This year this damn tree is not drinking any water whatsoever, and I just don’t get it.
I’ll go feel in the tree stand and the water level is not going down at all, only with evaporation, the tree clearly is taking no water in and it’s getting very dry and dropping needles all over the place.
I’ve never had a fresh tree do this before so I’m kind of at a loss. Any ideas? Reasons? What is going on here. Bad batch of trees?
Fraser Firs do not grow in Pennsylvania so these are brought in from elsewhere, I’m not sure if they’re coming from the north or the south, I’m not sure where in the country they grow exactly, I’m assuming the south.
It’s kind of disappointing because it’s a beautiful tree, I am not going to buy any pre-cut trees from this place anymore.
Posts: 35143 | Location: Pennsylvania | Registered: November 12, 2007
Did you cut a puck off the bottom before setting it up? When they sit, the vascular system seals up somewhat. You should always look a few inches off before putting it in water. If it’s already dropping needles all over the place, it’s not coming back. I’d try for a replacement if it’s worth the headache.
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Cut off another inch and put some aspirin in the water, it will help keep the capillaries open for taking in more water….tree was probably “not so fresh” as they said
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Posts: 3693 | Location: Central Virginia | Registered: November 06, 2006
If you cut it again and it’s still not taking up water, as much of a pain as it would be, I’d pull the lights off in the rare case you have a short and it catches fire. A dry Christmas tree is no joke like gasoline! Huge safety hazard.
Posted from my iPhone.
Posts: 4327 | Location: Tennessee | Registered: February 22, 2007
If the tree is dry, and dropping needles, trimming the end a little more will not be remedial, it is too far gone. Perhaps if you went six inches to a foot up the trunk, you might get some refresh, but is probably more realistic to bite the bullet and buy a new tree. You might consider taking it back to the vendor and asking for an exchange, it costs them very little to do this.
Posts: 6930 | Location: NoVA | Registered: July 22, 2009
I had a spruce that we cut from a farm one year and it lasted like 2 weeks and dropped all its needles. We did everything right. Sometimes it’s just a bad tree or bad year.
These go to eleven.
Posts: 12605 | Location: Westminster, MA | Registered: November 14, 2006
Originally posted by p08: The number one reason I have a fake tree. Bought a good one and it has lasted years and years.
This ^^^^^
We broke down and went fake 5 years ago, no one cares, it's fine. Seriously... but then we are just hicks! It is pre-lit and rotates. I have a son-in-law drag it down every year from the attic between our family Thanksgiving dinner and the dessert round and the Grandkids, with a little adult guidance from their moms, decorate it while us "Men folk" watch TV in the man cave. Done until after new years. The wife un-decorates at her leisure and all I do is take it apart (3 sections) fold it up, put in back in the box and back to the attic.
Oh... and wax melt scents for the authentic smell win!
Originally posted by p08: The number one reason I have a fake tree. Bought a good one and it has lasted years and years.
This ^^^^^
Yup. I fought the battle for many years. It eventually became so not worth it.
"America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system,,,, but too early to shoot the bastards." -- Claire Wolfe "If we let things terrify us, life will not be worth living." -- Seneca the Younger, Roman Stoic philosopher
