8 Proven Tips and Tricks to Make a Christmas Tree Last Longer

If you’re as enthusiastic about the holiday season as I am, you probably like to decorate your Christmas tree early, and that means bringing home a live tree soon after Thanksgiving and hoping it lasts for several weeks.

If you’re not diligent at the start of the season, however, you could end up with more fallen pine needles than presents under the tree by Christmas Day.

There are a number of tricks to make a Christmas tree last longer, and this goes for a tree picked up at the local tree lot, a tree harvested from a Christmas tree farm, or a tree cut down in the forest (which my family does in Oregon every year as a beloved tradition).

But none of the tricks I share below involve the advice you often hear for extending the bloom of cut flowers, like cutting the bottom at an angle or adding sugar (or molasses, aspirin, commercial preservatives, or other unnecessary additives) to the water.

In fact, the only things you’ll need to ensure a nice, long life for your tree is a clean cut and plenty of water.

Don’t believe me? Read on.

Here are the exact steps I take every year to keep our Christmas tree looking beautiful and smelling fresh all month long (and even past the New Year).

And if you brought home a living tree instead, learn how to keep your potted Christmas tree healthy so you can plant it in your yard afterward!

Disclosure: If you shop from my article or make a purchase through one of my links, I may receive commissions on some of the products I recommend.

Tip #1: Start with a healthy, vibrant tree.

This is especially important if you’re buying a specimen from a tree lot, as the tree may have been cut a couple weeks prior and transported a long distance to reach the vendor. Don’t be afraid to ask the vendor where the trees came from and how recently they were harvested.

Before bringing a tree home, run your fingers along the branches and look for soft, flexible needles that have a rich, deep green color.

Dried-out trees will often have a bleached or pale olive-colored appearance. Check how many needles fall off right away—if it’s a lot, it’s a good indication that the tree is not as fresh as it should be. Give the tree a good shake and watch for an excessive amount of needles that fall, as well as signs of thinning or browning areas.

Related: Why the needles on your evergreen tree are turning brown (it isn’t dying!)

If the tree is already starting to dry out and has stiff, brittle needles, it won’t take up as much water, and a warm, cozy home will only exacerbate the problem.

Weight also matters: a heavy tree means it’s retained a lot of water, helping it stay fresher longer.

It also helps to choose a tree variety that’s known to last longer to begin with. According to a study by the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Fraser fir is the best variety in terms of water uptake and needle retention, followed by balsam fir, Scotch pine, and Black Hills spruce (a variant of white spruce).

Tip #2: Cutting your own tree? Wait until it gets cold—really cold.

If you’re cutting down your own tree from a tree farm or in the forest, try to wait for a few hard frosts to happen first before you venture out.

A hard frost sends evergreen species into a state of dormancy so they’re hardened and ready for winter.

Their needles form a heavy, waxy coating called cutin to help prevent moisture loss, and they’re less likely to react to sunlight and warm indoor temperatures.

Tip #3: Give the tree a clean, straight cut across the bottom.

Chopping down your own tree ensures you have the freshest cut possible, assuming you don’t live more than a couple hours away. This is because it takes three to four hours for a seal of dried sap to form over the cut trunk, thereby hindering its ability to absorb water. It’s most common in non-dormant trees and those that sit out in the sun for a while.

If you’re buying a tree from a tree lot, ask the vendor to make a fresh cut for you by slicing off a thin disk of wood from the trunk. This is ideal if you’ll be placing your tree in water within 45 minutes of the cut.

Otherwise, make the cut yourself at home by sawing at least an inch off the previous cut in a straight line (no angled or “V” cuts necessary).

You should make a fresh cut even if you cut your own tree just a few hours ago.

Why? Because when a tree is first cut, air gets into the plant tissues and disrupts the tree’s ability to absorb water. Cutting the trunk again opens up the xylem vessels and “primes” the tree, so to speak, so it can hydrate properly.

Tip #4: Get the tree in water as soon as you come home.

The drive home on the roof of your car or the bed of your truck can start to dry out even the freshest tree to the point where it needs a drink of water immediately. If you haven’t cleared space in your home for the tree yet, place the trunk in a large bucket of water in a cool, shaded, sheltered spot like an unheated garage (or a covered porch, if it doesn’t get below freezing in your area).

Trees can absorb as much as a gallon of water in the first 24 hours, so hydration is key to your tree staying green.

As soon as you bring your tree indoors, set it up in a sturdy tree stand with a generous water reservoir that holds at least a gallon of water. (I swear by this tree stand. It stores a lot of water and it’s a burly one too—you won’t have to worry about your tree toppling over. It’s also a cinch to get your tree upright. I’ve owned mine for several years.)

Use a stand that’s properly sized for your tree, as you want to avoid carving off the bark to fit the stand—it’s those outer layers that help the tree absorb the most water. Without them, your tree will dry out sooner.

The first week is the most crucial period for a Christmas tree’s survival—it’s when the tree takes up the most water, so keeping the water reservoir in your tree stand topped off  is very important.

Frequently asked questions

Tip #5: Keep it cool.

As romantic as the idea of a beautifully lit Christmas tree by the fireplace is (you know, so Santa has quick access), it’s actually not the most ideal place to keep a tree.

Heat sources like fireplaces, wood stoves, space heaters, radiators, and even radiant floor heating can dry out a tree much faster than you can water it. So it’s best to locate your tree away from heating apparatuses and heating vents, turn off the radiant floor heating if you can, and keep your tree out of direct sunlight.

If you love having your tree in front of a window, try to avoid a south-facing window (or draw the blinds or curtains during the day when the sun is most intense).

The warmer your home is, the more your tree will take up water, so consider lowering the thermostat to slow the drying process.

If you live in a particularly dry climate, it may also help to run a room humidifier near the tree to keep the needles fresher longer.

Tip #6: Opt for white LED lights.

Believe it or not, the type of Christmas light you decorate your tree with can affect how long your tree lasts. Should you go incandescent or LED? Well, here’s the thing…

The new school of LED holiday lights emit very little heat, which keeps your tree from drying out too quickly and also reduces the risk of fire.

They’re inexpensive, energy efficient, don’t burn out, and last a long time, and most modern LED lights come in a “warm white” glow that mimics incandescent lights. (My favorites are these sphere lights, which have a sort of retro look to them.)

Recent research also suggests that white and red LED lights have a highly beneficial effect on needle retention. That’s because photosynthesis, which continues even after a tree is cut, helps the needles stay fresh (and attached to the tree).

Trees use the white and red spectrums at the chloroplast level, allowing them to synthesize carbohydrates and sugars. So the longer your tree is exposed to white or red LED lights, the more energy they have to preserve their needles for a longer period. If you can’t or don’t want to keep your string lights on all night, consider keeping them on for just a bit longer after you go to bed.

You can find tree toppers lit with LED lights, too. Many of them are made to connect to your LED light strands, so you don’t have to deal with extra cords or batteries.

Tip #7: Check the water level every day.

Trees suck up a vast amount of water, so don’t be surprised if you find that you need to top off your tree stand daily if you have a larger tree.

Keep at least 2 inches of the trunk submerged in plain, clean water at all times to prevent sap from forming over the base. (It’ll be much harder to make a fresh cut again if your tree’s already decorated.) Remember that sometimes there will still be water in the stand, but you won’t realize that the water level has dropped below the base of the tree.

In general, a tree can absorb up to a quart of water per day for every inch of its diameter, especially in the first week.

This is one of the reasons a properly sized tree stand is helpful. If your tree trunk is 5 inches in diameter, get a tree stand that holds at least 5 quarts of water so you don’t have to refill it twice or more each day to keep the needles green and supple.

(See my favorites, like this Tree Genie Deluxe, in the source list below.)

Tip #8: Don’t keep a fruit basket near your tree.

This might sound completely bizarre, but it’s not! If you receive a fruit basket as a gift, do not put it under the tree or anywhere near your tree.

In fact, it’s a good idea to keep your Christmas tree as far as possible from the kitchen. That’s because trees start producing ethylene about 10 days after they’re cut, which signals to the tree that it’s time to drop its needles. Ethylene is the same plant hormone that hastens ripening in fruits, and is the reason that adding a ripe banana to a bag full of green tomatoes will turn them red.

Scientists have tried different ways of interfering with ethylene to extend the length of time a branch holds on to its needles, but these methods currently aren’t replicable on a large scale. Since we know that ethylene can affect how quickly a tree loses its needles, we can take small steps at home to reduce how much ethylene exposure our Christmas tree has.

So, as weird as it sounds, keep your fruit bowls and fruit baskets away from your tree.

What’s next for your tree?

With proper care, a Christmas tree in the average home should last about five weeks before it dries out too much. After that, most people dispose of it through a local tree recycling program, but you can repurpose an old Christmas tree around your yard and home in many ways. From mulch and wildlife habitats to pot feet and coasters, you’ll never wonder what to do with a dead tree again!

This post updated from an article that originally appeared on December 5, 2018.