I still remember family trips to cut the Christmas tree as a child, and cutting our own fresh pine is still a much cherished tradition now that I have a daughter of my own. However, one thing I’ve never known is if there really is a way to make a Christmas tree last longer.
Fortunately, we learned a new trick on how to make a Christmas tree last longer when we visited Karabin Farms, a Christmas tree farm in Southington, Connecticut.
Christmas tree grower Michael Karabin shared the following advice as we boarded the tractor-drawn wagon for our trip back from the field after cutting down our Christmas tree:
To make a Christmas tree last longer …
When you bring your Christmas tree home, first boil a gallon of water. Then, dissolve a cup of sugar in the water and allow the mixture to cool. Make a fresh half-inch cut at the base of the Christmas tree trunk. Place the Christmas tree on a sturdy stand, then pour in the warm sugar water. Keep adding cool, cool water to the tree stand, always making sure your Christmas tree has an ample supply of water.
We decided to give this tree preservation trick a try, and one thing I noticed in the first week after we brought our Christmas tree home was that it seemed to have retained its forest pine scent longer than the trees we had cut down on the tree. past. The needle retention was impressive too.
This photo shows our tree on December 4: right after your sugar water snack. Did this advice from a New England farmer really make our Christmas tree last longer? Here’s a photo showing how healthy and green our tree still appeared in January – a full month after we cut it down! Taken on January 3, it shows that our Christmas tree was still green and lush and had lost very few needles, particularly considering it was such a large tree.
