At Lowe’s Floral and Garden Center, we get many questions about how to keep a fresh cut Christmas Tree fresh and alive through the Holiday Season.
The absolute best practice to keep your tree healthy is to ADD WATER DAILY. Fresh, clean water is essential for a fresh cut Christmas tree to keep its needles and create less mess in your home at the end of the Holiday Season. One of the things you can add to the water to help add longevity to your tree is a professional Christmas Tree preservative.
Lowe’s Floral and Garden Center recommends the “Keeps It Green” brand of professional Christmas Tree preservative. Much like the little packets of “Flower Food” that come with fresh flowers from Lowe’s Floral, a Christmas Tree preservative includes:
1. an acid which forces water up the trunk of the tree faster, promoting proper hydration and better water uptake,
2. a sugar solution, which feeds the tree, and,
3. a biocide, a checmical like bleach which kills bacteria.
Bacteria can threaten a fresh cut Christmas Tree in several ways. Bacteria in the water can cause the tree to stop taking up fresh water by blocking the microscopic tubes in the phloem (the system of tubes located just below the bark that takes water and nutrients up from the roots, or in this case the fresh trunk cut).
Professional Christmas Tree preservative assists in the uptake of water, the feeding of the tree and the prevention of harmful bacteria and can help you keep your tree healthy and fresh thoughout the entire Christmas Season!