Anyone who bought a Christmas tree on the first day they were available on the island in 2024 will remember it well.
The biblical downpour that November afternoon left countless folk drenched to the bone in the grocery store car park as they gamely fastened their new purchases to the roofs of their vehicles.
Such is the life of the festive homeowner in Bermuda: nothing comes between us and our Christmas trees.
If there’s a delay shipping them to the island, we start to panic. If there’s a two-hour line to collect them on a Friday night, we happily join the end of it. And if there’s torrential rain when it’s our turn to get served, we get wet.
All of this means one thing – allowing your new tree to lose all its needles or go brown halfway through December is not an option.
Here are our top tips for keeping your Christmas tree in tip-top condition:
- Choose your tree wisely
Trees cling on to their needles for longer when they’re hydrated. When you arrive at the store, lift your chosen tree by the trunk – if it’s heavy, that means it is retaining water and therefore hydrated. You also want the needles to be flexible so they will bend rather than snap off. Tell-tale signs to avoid are drooping branches or any brownness.
- Trim the bottom
Cut an inch from the stump of your tree. This is a time-honoured trick, of course, for people who accidentally bought a tree that was too big for their living room – but it also serves another purpose. After the tree is removed from its plantation, its pores gradually seal up, which prevents it from absorbing water. So, cut off that inch and immediately put the tree in a bucket of water so that it can soak up as much water as possible.
- Use a Christmas tree stand
The trunk is not wide enough to support the tree on its own, so needs the stand to keep it steady. It can hold a reservoir of water to keep it fresh.
- Decorate it carefully
Allow the branches to settle for a few hours before you start decorating. An overload of ornaments won’t do your branches much good – but if you’re one of those people who loves to go big, you can get away after with it by putting the heavier items on first, near the trunk. Try to avoid putting too much weight on the tips of the branches.
- Water it regularly
Ensure your tree’s container is always full of water. A healthy tree can consume a litre of water a day. (Note: if your tree is not absorbing much water, it’s probably not healthy – sorry!) You may have heard of people feeding people Sprite to their Christmas trees so that it can drink in the sugary lemony goodness. Unfortunately, this does more harm than good: sweet drinks encourage bacteria to grow and clog the tree’s pores.
- Keep it cool
A Christmas tree next to the roaring fire makes a beautiful scene on a festive card – but in real life, heat causes trees to dry out which makes their needles drop off.
- Use scent spray sparingly
Scent sprays designed for artificial trees can contain chemicals which are harmful for real trees. But if you really must, make a spray of your own with drops of pine, fir, cinnamon bark or essential oils.
- Buy an artificial tree
If it’s all too much effort, just head to Hamilton and get a fake tree. It won’t be as much fun, but at least you won’t get soaked in the grocery store car park.
Sources for this article include Royal Horticultural Society, Michigan State University and the National Christmas Tree Association.
