Caring for your cut christmas tree
Here are some tips for looking after your cut Christmas Tree! All our trees are freshly cut and will need to be watered, just like a bunch of flowers. So make sure you have a suitable stand that can hold water. Your tree will drink water for the first week or two, so keep checking if it needs topping up.
Place your Christmas tree in a cooler part of a room and away from any heat source. This will help keep it fresh for as long as possible. They really dislike underfloor heating, which can cause them to dry out very quickly and drop their needles.
Looking after your pot-grown tree
- Your pot-grown Christmas tree is still alive. To keep it alive, it will need watering at home.
- When you water the soil in your Christmas tree’s pot, some of it may spill out of the pot. So have a drip tray or something on the floor to protect your carpet or floorboards.
- Water little and often. Before you water the soil, check how moist it is. If the soil is already moist, then your tree does not need watering. Letting your tree sit in stagnant water will drown the roots and the tree could start to get ill.
- Your tree will need watering more often if it is in a warm place.
- If it is warm in your house, your pot-grown Christmas tree might think that spring has arrived early. It might start to develop its buds and grow! Don’t be alarmed, just enjoy the show.
what shall I do with my pot-grown christmas tree after christmas?
Many of our customers successfully keep their tree in a pot and repot it into a larger pot as it grows. Our potted trees are all grown in their pots, which means you can try growing them out in the garden after Christmas.
Bear in mind, however, that buying a potted Christmas tree from us (or any other retailer) is not the same as buying a garden tree from a nursery or garden centre. Trees in pots are grown for display this Christmas only. While it is possible to plant them in the ground, there is only a 50/50 chance of them establishing successfully. But if you want to give it a go, please read on!
taking your pot-grown tree outdoors after christmas
When the time comes to move your tree outdoors, choose your time carefully. The shock of moving your tree from a warm house to sub-zero temperatures outdoors is enough to kill it. Wait for a mild and wet winter’s day, then move your tree outside. Or acclimatise your tree by putting it in a conservatory or greenhouse for a few weeks. But remember that you will still need to water it!
Your pot-grown tree will either need to planted in the ground, or in a larger pot. To do this, you will need to remove the pot it is in.
A bigger pot for your pot-grown tree
- Plunge the tree’s root ball into a bucket of water and soak for 30–60 mins.
- Choose a pot that is at least twice the size of the original pot. Tease out the congested roots with a trowel. Then plant at the same depth using a soil-based compost mixture known as John Innes No.3. This compost is specially formulated for trees and shrubs in pots, and contains a bit of fertiliser to keep the tree fed for a few months. Water the tree in well on planting.
- Trees in pots are totally reliant on you for water and food! Feed it with a general-purpose, slow-release fertiliser in spring and early summer, and make sure the compost never dries out. If the needles are going a bit yellow, then it is either short of food or you are watering it too much (causing nutrients to wash out of the soil).
- Bear in mind that Christmas trees much prefer to be in the ground, where their roots can really spread out. As a result, growth in pots is much reduced, with only a couple of inches growth per year.
Planting your pot-grown tree in the garden
- If you decide to plant your tree in the ground, choose a position that will give it plenty of space to grow, a reasonable distance from any buildings (these trees grow to about 30ft+) in a sunny or lightly shaded site. Tease out the congested roots and dig a hole slightly bigger than the root ball. Make sure it is planted no deeper than it was in the pot. As you backfill the hole, slosh in lots of water to help it get established. This water will drain away, but if it doesn’t then your site is waterlogged and your tree won’t like that!
- Keep watering your tree well in its first spring and summer. After that it will be happy.
- Clip your tree every now and again to keep its Christmas-tree shape.
Advice From Kate & Simon
“We have been growing Christmas trees for almost 25 years now, and we are still learning new things. So don’t worry if it all goes wrong. Part of the fun is in the trying!
However, if you are seriously looking for a Christmas tree as a long-term tree to plant in your garden, we would advise buying your tree from a specialist tree nursery. These nurseries bring trees on for garden display, not temporary winter display, so they will be much better prepared.
Trees are more likely to succeed if they are planted young, but today many nurseries offer larger, established trees that come in very large pots.”
Please rECYCLE your tree
After the festive cheer subsides and we move into the new year, please remember to recycle your tree in January!