Christmas Tree Care
I cannot believe it is already time for my annual Christmas tree care article- the years seem to be speeding up. Anyways, we want everyone to be safe and for their trees to last the full season and not turn brown like mine usually do. If your family still uses a traditional live tree as opposed to a plastic tree, here are a few valuable tips to help you keep your tree looking good.
When a Christmas tree is cut, more than half of its weight is water. With proper care, you can maintain the quality of your tree. Here are a few good hints for caring for your fresh cut tree from the National Christmas Tree Association: Displaying trees in water in a traditional reservoir type stand is the most effective way of maintaining their freshness and minimizing needle loss problems.
To display the trees indoors, use a stand with adequate water holding capacity for the tree. As a rule, stands should provide 1 quart of water per inch of stem diameter. Devices are available that help maintain a constant water level in the stand.
Use a stand that fits your tree. Avoid whittling the sides of the trunk down to fit a stand. The outer layers of wood are the most efficient in taking up water and should not be removed.
Make a fresh cut to remove about a 1/2-inch-thick disk of wood from the base of the trunk before putting the tree in the stand. Make the cut perpendicular to the stem axis. Do not cut the trunk at an angle, or into a V-shape, which makes it far more difficult to hold the tree in the stand and reduces the amount of water available to the tree.
Drilling a hole in the base of the trunk does NOT improve water uptake.
Once home, place the tree in water as soon as possible. Most species can go 6 to 8 hours after cutting the trunk and still take up water. Do not bruise the cut surface or get it dirty. If needed, trees can be temporarily stored for several days in a cool location. Place the freshly cut trunk in a bucket that is kept full of water.
The temperature of the water used to fill the stand is not important and does not affect water uptake.
Check the stand daily to make sure that the level of water does not go below the base of the tree. With many stands, there can still be water in the stand even though the base of the tree is no longer submerged in water.
Keep trees away from major sources of heat (fireplaces, heaters, heat vents, direct sunlight). Lowering the room temperature will slow the drying process, resulting in less water consumption each day.
Use of lights that produce low heat, such as miniature lights, will reduce drying of the tree. If you are like me and really like the big old timey colored bulbs, they now make them in LED which burn much cooler.
Pecan Show
Please do not forget the County Pecan Show; it is also an annual tradition in the county. We need all the entries we can get. This year’s show will be held on Thursday, Dec. 18 at 8:30 a.m. at the Comanche County Extension Office, with judging beginning as soon as we complete the processing of pecans. Entries will be accepted from all pecan growers, whether you have 1 or 100,000 trees, but the pecans must have been grown during this year and by the person that is entering the nuts. Pecan entries need to be dropped off at the Comanche County Extension office by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 17. If you are interested, give us a call at (325)-356-2539.