real tree.....when to get?

[mookie]

DH has convinced me to get a real tree this year. He thinks we can get it now, but I think it will be dried out before Xmas. We also have 2 dogs and 2 cats that I'm a bit worried about messing with a real tree. Any real tree experts that can help give info on maintenence, when to get, etc? Is it even a good idea to get with our furry friends?

 

[npmommie]

we get a real tree every year, we usually will get it right after thanksgiving, so this weekend it will go up.
we also have always had multiple cats and dogs in the house, and they usually do not bother the tree.
once one of the cats climbed it but that was it.
I usually don't hang anything breakable down low because the dogs have no sense of not brushing up against the tree.


you will love a real tree, there is nothing like the smell, its wonderful.
oh and we leave ours up til about a week after new years, and yes by then it is usually dry

 

[golfgal]

A real tree will keep for a very long time if you don't ever let the stand dry out. Get it a little taller then you want and when you get home, get your stand set up 1/2 full of water, cut the bottom inch or 2 off the end of the tree, put it in the stand and once you get it situated, fill up the stand. Check it a couple times/day for the first week or two to fill it up, then daily after that. Get a big stand with a large reservoir so you aren't filling it as often. Something like this makes watering easier:

We have gotten real trees pretty much every year I have been alive and haven't really had any issues. I also put the plastic tree bag under the stand to protect the floor AND to make wrapping the tree up after Christmas easier.

Fir trees (Frasier, Douglas, Balsam) hold their needles longer and smell the best .

 

[jen0610]

A real tree will keep for a very long time if you don't ever let the stand dry out. Get it a little taller then you want and when you get home, get your stand set up 1/2 full of water, cut the bottom inch or 2 off the end of the tree, put it in the stand and once you get it situated, fill up the stand. Check it a couple times/day for the first week or two to fill it up, then daily after that. Get a big stand with a large reservoir so you aren't filling it as often. Something like this makes watering easier:

We have gotten real trees pretty much every year I have been alive and haven't really had any issues. I also put the plastic tree bag under the stand to protect the floor AND to make wrapping the tree up after Christmas easier.

Fir trees (Frasier, Douglas, Balsam) hold their needles longer and smell the best .

I grew up with only real trees in the house, DH didn't. Golfgal is right, you need to make sure you have a really good stand that will one, hold the tree upright and two, will hold a lot of water. As long as you don't let the tree run out of water, you should be good to go. Also, if your house is dryer, that would cause your tree to absorb the water faster, causing you to add water more often.

My parents do two trees. Frasier firs are their preference, followed by Douglas. They also do the bag under the tree for easier removal. But every other year, instead of throwing them out, my dad spends New Years weekend, cutting the branches off and burning them. The house smells heavenly. He only does it to the one that mom doesn't spray with the flocking stuff, if she flockes the one. He only does it every other year, because mom thinks it's a waste of time and she bemoans and groans the entire time he does it.

We never had cats, but the dogs never messed with the trees.

 

[npmommie]

yep we have the kind of stand in golfgals picture.
lots of water is key. Don't let it go dry.

also we always cut the bottom a bit before putting it in the stand.

 

[Dax]

Im in FL, so I will wait another week or 2 before getting my real tree. DH turned me onto real trees, growing up we always had a fake.

I have a whole herd of cats and dogs, including a very wild teenager cat who is going to go WILD when we put the tree up, so we will also anchor it to the wall and ceiling, and I have become a master at wrapping ornaments to branches..LOL..

I agree with the water...keep it full, and it will last till NYE! Of course my cats LOVE to play in my water, so I am looking at getting a tree stand with a bigger resovior.

 

[Diznotyzed]

Not sure where you live, but where you get your tree will affect how dried out it might get. If you cut it yourself, like at a tree farm, you can get it in water right when you get it home. Tree lot trees are often cut all at the same time, and then not kept in water until you get them home. In this case the longer you wait to buy one, the longer it has to start drying out, so you won't get a fresher tree by waiting. As others have said, wherever you get your tree be sure to cut a bit off the bottom when you put it in the stand, and keep it watered. Enjoy that fresh tree smell!

 

[okeydokey]

We got ours this past weekend. It is in a bucket in the garage until we put it up in a week or two. They are all cut at the same time so we get it early instead of letting it sit with no water in the tree lot.

 

[tlbwriter]

Unless you cut the tree yourself, they've all been cut at pretty much the same time, and they're all sitting there on the lot getting older and drier. Buying it later will not result in a fresher tree.

 

[mookie]

Im in FL, so I will wait another week or 2 before getting my real tree. DH turned me onto real trees, growing up we always had a fake.

I have a whole herd of cats and dogs, including a very wild teenager cat who is going to go WILD when we put the tree up, so we will also anchor it to the wall and ceiling, and I have become a master at wrapping ornaments to branches..LOL..

I agree with the water...keep it full, and it will last till NYE! Of course my cats LOVE to play in my water, so I am looking at getting a tree stand with a bigger resovior.

How do you anchor it? I think I might have to do this with my kitties, too. And golfgal, great idea about the stand. It looks like between that and buying the tree, I could get a fake one on sale for the same price!

 

[Dax]

I agree...I am not ready to put it up in the house yet, what if I just buy it and put it on the back porch in a bucket of water...will that help?

 

[Dax]

How do you anchor it? I think I might have to do this with my kitties, too. And golfgal, great idea about the stand. It looks like between that and buying the tree, I could get a fake one on sale for the same price!

How do I anchor it...I do it 2 ways...My tree is in a corner, so I put a small eye bolt in one wall, and another on the ceiling...then fishing line..tied to the trunk, and the top of the tree..I actually started doing this after getting a lopsided tree one year we could not get to stand straight.

 

[SaraJayne]

I agree...I am not ready to put it up in the house yet, what if I just buy it and put it on the back porch in a bucket of water...will that help?

Unless you cut it yourself, it won't make a bit of difference.

We have always cut our own (and will probably do it this weekend) and the key is keeping it watered.

I usually keep it up until the first of the year and have no problems with it drying out.

If you buy it from a tree lot (already cut), trees here in WI were cut 2-3 weeks ago for shipment around the country.

 

[okeydokey]

I agree...I am not ready to put it up in the house yet, what if I just buy it and put it on the back porch in a bucket of water...will that help?

Yes, the sooner it starts taking in water the better. Trim a couple of inches off the bottom and put it water immediately after. Make sure it doesn't ever run dry or it will form a scab on the bottom that will prevent it from taking any water.

 

[Rora]

We got ours the day after Thanksgiving.

Some years they dry out faster than others but we now know what to look for: make sure the needles don't fall off easily, look for a sappy tree, etc.

We water ours daily and give it the "food" they recommend, it always looks beautiful by Christmas!

 

[golfgal]

We usually get our real tree the weekend after Thanksgiving weekend because the tree farm is too crowded on Thanksgiving weekend. This year we will wait until DS18 comes home from college so we can all go out together.

 

[LPZ_Stitch!]

We've been getting real trees for years and so long as you don't let it dry out (especially right during the first couple of days) it should have no problems lasting a long time.

I've had a few concolor trees that still were green sitting outside, propped up against the side of the house, in MARCH!

We've always gotten our trees drilled and use the Stand-Strait stand ... no messing about with little bolts and it holds a LOT of water.