Hacks to keep your Christmas tree fresh

Christmas trees are a treasured symbol of the holiday season, and in North America it is becoming more common to display a real Christmas tree instead of a plastic tree. According to Statistics Canada, in 2016, more than 1,800 farms produced trees for the $77 million market and exported the evergreen plants around the world.

The American Christmas Tree Association reports that over 95 million households had a tree in 2018, with 17.9% of households having a real tree. The industry advocacy group has some tips for keeping your Christmas tree fresh and blooming throughout the holiday season.

Water is crucial to keeping a tree green and fresh while it thrives indoors. The NCTA recommends placing the tree in a traditional stand with a water reservoir that holds at least one quart of water per inch of tree diameter.

Other tips include making a fresh half-inch cut perpendicular to the axis before inserting into the stand. A fancy V-cut is unnecessary, can make the tree unstable, and actually reduces the tree's ability to absorb water. If the outer layer of bark remains intact, the tree can also absorb and store more water.

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It is also a good idea to keep the tree away from heat sources such as fireplaces, heaters, heating, vents and vents and direct sunlight, as well as using low heat Christmas lights and monitoring the water level in the stand to ensure that the The water level does not fall below the base of the tree.

Other safety tips include never leaving decorative lights on when you are not home, always inspecting lighting kits before use, not overloading electrical circuits, and promptly removing dry trees from the home.

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Finally, you should never dispose of a Christmas tree by burning it in the fireplace. The small, dry needles can quickly ignite and burn out of control and spread sparks throughout the house, quickly setting everything in the apartment on fire. The high sap content can burn hot and long enough to set fire to deposits in the chimney and start a chimney fire that can spread quickly. This is also unnecessary since many communities offer household recycling programs.