What do I need to know to keep my cut Christmas tree fresh as long as possible?

We’re fortunate that our Fraser fir grower lives locally and takes very good care of us. He literally cuts from his farm on the East Coast and ships to us in the next few days. That’s unbelievably fresh and a huge advantage for our customers! If you’re going to store your tree for days before setup keep it cool/cold, and out of sun and wind – an unheated garage serves well. We highly recommend spraying with Wilt-Pruf, a sealant that reduces water loss and therefore premature drying. Spray the undersides of the leaves (where water loss occurs) and make sure it dries outside before bringing in.

 A fresh cut (at least ¼” or more) must be made to the trunk of the tree to maximize water uptake. Once the cut is made it’s best to get the tree in the stand within 30 minutes, but no later than an hour. Why? After an hour or so the trunk cells close and water retention slows. We always recommend lukewarm/warm water, never cold. And never let the stand go dry. Also, always avoid placing your tree next to fireplaces and heating vents.

P.S. – Don’t waste your time putting your tree in a bucket of cold water in the garage after the fresh cut has been made! There’s virtually no uptake of cold water, so when you bring it in the house and put it in the stand without a fresh cut… Well, just don’t do it, please. Get that fresh cut, then get the tree in the house in the stand and fill with warm water ASAP!

I have multi-trunked arborvitae that have splayed open under the weight of wet, icy snow in the past. They seldom return to their original tight, conical shape after that. Suggestions?

You’re so right. This is a common occurrence. Most arborvitae are grown with multiple trunks to give a fuller plant, but that does make them subject to just the kind of “opening up” that you describe. What I’ve done with mine is to purchase a length of coated flexible cable and I looped the trunks together (somewhat) tightly, making sure it’s not so tight that is cuts into the bark. I wove it through on the interior, behind the foliage, so you can’t see the cable. Taller plants benefit from two sets of cables a few feet apart.

I get tremendous joy from the birds’ antics at my feeder all year ’round. Now I’m thinking of adding a suet feeder. How specifically does that benefit our feathered friends?

Suet is literally rendered fat (most often beef) and therefor yields great protein and calories for energy and heat production. Bird feeding is one of America’s favorite hobbies so there’s a wide range of specialty suet cakes available with goodies imbedded in them: fruit, seeds, nuts, corn, insects, etc. Suet cakes with mealworms will be particularly appreciated by those birds that are insectivores (robins) rather than seed eaters. In addition to helping birds survive the winter challenge of finding enough high quality food, offering various suet cakes may attract new species that aren’t regular diners at your feeder.

I feel like I’m hosting a 365-day-a-year deer brunch in my garden. Last year one majestic yew at a corner where the buffet line slowed for a nosh got stripped. While it regrew the loss of foliage clearly stressed the plant. What can I do?

Dear Deer Hostess – I hear you loud and clear, and feel your pain. Been there, too, experienced it myself. When the snow gets deep (or even if it isn’t) deer will turn to feeding on both yews and arborvitae. While you can spray with long-lasting repellents like Plant Skydd it’s not always fun to snowshoe through drifts to reapply. One easy solution is to exclude deer by wrapping the plants loosely with black deer netting and zip ties. It’s available in a number of square and rectangular sizes, and is completely inconspicuous. That stops ‘em cold. In my experience this really seems to be a winter-only issue that disappears when softer, leafier greens (say annuals, perennials, veggies) are on the menu. Note: Unlike yews, if arborvitae are eaten back to bare branches they will NEVER regrow. They have to have green growing points left on stems to have any hope of recovery.

I was in your store for your holiday Preview Party recently and was delighted with the incredible number of Amaryllis varieties that exist now since I grew up with the reddish- scarlet one, which seemed to be the only option then. For friends that “have everything” I think they’re the perfect gift. What’s the elevator speech to share on Amaryllis success with my “giftees”?

#1- The bigger the bulb, the better your chances of having: larger flowers, perhaps more flowers per spike (average is 4), and even multiple spikes. 

#2 – When you plant the bulb water once and then don’t water it again until you see either a flower spike or green leaves emerging from the neck of the bulb. If it doesn’t show either or both of those it’s still dormant and not ready to grow. If you insist on being an ardent parent and watering anyway your overly generous care may be rewarded with a rotting bulb! 

#3- Don’t assume they’ll bloom for Christmas. They’re grown both in the northern and southern hemispheres. If the latter, then they’ve already experienced their resting phase and will be much more apt to have leaves/flower shoots peeking out of the bulb. These might make it in time for a Christmas display. If they’re not showing “anything green” chances are they were grown in the northern hemisphere and haven’t completed their dormant period. They’ll just bloom later in the winter, that’s all.

Winter can never be gone soon enough for me so I bought a really pretty spring-flowered Witchhazel from you. I knew what it would do seasonally so I put it in a large container to winter over so I could have it near my kitchen window when it bloomed in March. For those of us that have landscape trees, shrubs and evergreens in containers outside for the winter what can we do to increase their chances for survival?

Great question with a lot of different factors in play. 

 * Try to select Zone 4 plants (we’re Zone 5). Root systems in pots are facing temperature stress equal to plants in the ground one full hardiness zone farther north. 

* Choose the largest container you can handle. We like to see at least 2’ by 2’ by 2’ as a minimum size. The larger the soil mass, the less likely it is to freeze solid and damage roots. 

* Consider container exposure. Soil temps in containers out in the open with air exposure on all sides are more apt to be colder than those in a container with even one side against a building where ambient heat is in play. 

* Whether deciduous or evergreen, check your plant for water periodically over the winter and hope for above-freezing days for the opportunity to provide an occasional supplemental drink.

What’s the short version of “All I Ever Needed to Know About Poinsettias” to make them last as long as possible?

Answer: Bright light. Allow the soil surface to dry thoroughly to the touch before watering, always using warm water. Don’t splash water on the bracts (the colored leaves we refer to as flowers, which really aren’t). Don’t let poinsettias sit in drainage water for more than 30 minutes after you’ve watered them. Avoid temperature extremes, hot or cold, inside or out. They must be wrapped to leave the store. If you buy them on a cold day go directly home and put inside the house. NEVER let them sit in a cold car while you shop and the car interior grows cold. Conversely, don’t put them near an actively used fireplace, heat vents or radiators.

I love the idea of having a live potted Christmas tree, then planting it out after Christmas. It seems so ecologically correct. Since no one seems to be doing it there must be a downside. What am I missing?

You’re so right. It’s a lovely idea. You’re right, too, that there are more than a few “considerations” that must be met that have kept many people off the “live Christmas tree” bandwagon. 

* Even a 3-4’ or 4-5’ potted evergreen is heavy and cumbersome to schlep up or down stairs and despite best efforts can be muddy or leaking water… on an Oriental rug, staining hardwood floors, etc. 

* Trees must be well watered while inside ensuring that the root ball is moist and heavy…. 

* They can’t stay indoors at 70° for the weeks we’d ordinarily have a tree up. It confuses their dormant state. We recommend transitioning: 3 days in a garage, 5 days absolute max indoors (very cool room preferred), then 3 days in the garage before easing back out to cold temperatures. This timetable gives a live tree the best chance for survival. *Pre-digging the hole, moving and storing the soil somewhere that it doesn’t freeze, lining the hole with mulch while awaiting the planting ceremony, these are all time-consuming chores and hard work. Ho-ho-ho!

What’s a good way to recycle (and get one more use) from my cut Christmas tree?

I recommend cutting off the branches at the trunk and using them for mulch. Flip them over from the way they live on the tree and place them over perennials (especially evergreen ones*) or beds of ground cover (mainly English ivy) in sunny, windswept sites. These branches shade the soil, keeping it frozen, yet allowing air circulation around the crowns of the plant. Shading perennials and English ivy spares the dehydrating effect of sun and wind that can be devastating in winters where it’s bitterly cold, but don’t have the benefit of snow cover. (* = Ajuga, Bergenia, Dianthus, Hellebores, Heuchera, Iberis, to name a few)

My teenage son insists on shoveling snow off onto some of my perennial beds. Is there any harm in this?

Actually he’s doing the best thing imaginable for your perennials. There really is no better insulator for plants than snow, keeping both air and soil temperatures from wild swings. Nothing is harder on perennials (especially newly planted or transplanted) than those winters where the temperatures fluctuate wildly above and below freezing sending mixed signals. “Oh, it’s been 50° for two weeks now, is it spring? Should I start growing?” Or, the back-and-forth seesaw that can cause frost-heaving where insufficiently rooted perennials may start popping above ground exposing their roots to dehydration and cold temperature damage. Snow cover is live-saving.

I’ve seen ads for birdbath deicers. I hadn’t really thought about birds’ access to water during the winter. Is it that much of a “thing”?

Perhaps surprisingly, it is a “thing”. Having clean, non-contaminated water for drinking is really the issue as opposed to them having it for bathing. Under certain weather conditions clean drinking water can be harder for birds to obtain than food! Using a birdbath deicer can literally be the difference between life and death. One of the most telling pictures I ever saw was of a heated birdbath in winter snow that had at least 15 robins in, perched or awaiting their turn at the water.

Happy, safe Holidays to all!