Keeping your tree healthy
Having your tree cut just before you need to set it up is the best possible start. But how to keep your tree healthy at home?
Follow our simple tips and advice on keeping your tree happy, ensuring that it looks as good on Christmas morning as it did the day you brought it home. And remember, at the end of the season, be a tidy-kiwi and lower your carbon footprint by giving your used tree to a local tree recycler.
When you get home
Don't muck around, get your tree into a stand or bucket with water as quickly as possible! In the heat, your tree can really take a beating. Just follow these steps:
- If more than half-an-hour has passed since the tree was cut, it's likely that sap will have dried at the base of the tree, restricting the ability for water to flow through the trunk. We recommend you cut a further inch off the base before you place it in a stand or bucket.
- Place your tree in a stand with plenty of water. We have stands available for purchase to hold a tree of any size. Alternatively, you can use a bucket with water and bricks to hold it up. We recommend you don't use soil or sand to hold the tree up as it can stop the water getting into the base.
- Have a close look at each side of the tree and ensure it is positioned with the fullest and most consistent needle coverage visible.
- Pop a couple of aspirin tablets into the water. It may sound crazy, but if you'd just been cut down you might have a headache too! But seriously, the aspirin helps the tree survive.
- And now pass it on to the kids for the fun part: decorating! Check out our photos page for some great ideas.
First few days
- Top up the water each morning and evening. You'd be surprised by how much water the tree will consume.
Rest of the season
- Monitor the water level and top it up if it's getting low.
- Send us your photos! We love seeing how people have decorated their trees. You could provide inspiration to others!
At the end of the season
- Remove as many of the decorations from the tree as possible, before moving it outside.
- Have a vacuum cleaner on the ready, as many of the needles will fall off while you're moving it.
- Be a tidy kiwi and have your tree collected for recycling. Again, it's important to remove as much tinsel and decoration from the tree as possible.