HOW TO EXTENT THE LIFE OF YOUR TREE

[namgrunt 0]

With the holidays around the corner here is a hint on extending the life of your tree.
make a 50/50% mixture of water and sugar citrus carbonated drink, like 7up,or any outher citrus drink but it must have real sugar not low cal or no cal.

this works great and also will keep your cut roses from wilting for weeks.

this is not a joke buy the cheapest citrus soft drink and add water the sugar and citrus is good for the greens

..

59 YEARS,OVERWEIGHT,BALDIND,X-GRUNT
LAST MIL. JUMP VIET-NAM(QUAN-TRI)
www.dzmemories.com

[Lindercles 0]

Another great method for extending the life of your tree is not to cut it down.

[shropshire 0]

Buy one with the root ball still attached.

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[DJL 235]

And when you toss the tree add two parts vodka get ready to be bamboozled.

"I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher

[SpeedRacer 1]

good plan! just found something similar on a chemistry site, a mixture of water and soda. the idea is that it will a) provide food (sugars) for the plant and b) will be acidic in order to neutralize the alkaline-causing minerals in the tap water

They also recommend putting a penny in there. the copper helps prevent fungal growth.

Speed Racer
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[Andy9o8 2]

I use water, white or brown Karo syrup and baking soda. More or less the same chemical end result, I guess. But I can tell you this: the years when I use Karo syrup instead of just plain sugar, the tree stays fresh and flexible forever.

A penny's a neat idea. Kills the fungus, eh? I'll wear it in my shorts the next time I go to the gym.

[moodyskydiver 0]

*personal experience here from numerous years in tree sales*

Yup, you're absolutely right.My family used to own a nursery and sold fresh trees at Christmas time and we'd tell people the same thing when the asked about preserving their tree/making it look good/last longer throughout the season.Ofcourse the best thing to do is not buy a real tree so early in the season,b/c then its pretty much on its last limb(pardon the pun) by the time Xmas Eve/Day comes around.Its best to get a real tree about a week before Xmas and no sooner than the 2nd week of Dec for maximum enjoyment and best results of it staying nice through the holiday.I know some people want to rush and have their tree and decorations out as soon as Thanksgiving is over,but a fresh tree will not look its best after so long a period.If you want a tree up that long,then unfortunately a fake is best for you.If you still want that wonderful real tree smell,get a real wreath or garland for the room you put the tree in.Or some retailers will discard branches that they have cut off during the "shaping" process,ask them if you can have them and tie them strategically into the fake tree,voila! real tree smell.

We'd always tell them that,on top of the packet of nutrients given with trees and all fresh flowers,that adding sprite or 7up to the water definitely helps the longevity of the tree/flowers to keep them at their best.Usually we mix 1/2 sprite or 7up(offbrands/generic are fine too) and 1/2 water when the tree (or flowers) are first set up and then 1:4 afterwards,but even 2:3 wont hurt.If you dont want to use or dont have any sprite/7up then a good sized pitcher of water with 2-3 cups of sugar dissolved into it works just as well.If the stand stays fairly full of water throughout the whole time you have your tree up it helps to longevity aswell.Just keeping the basin full of water and adding 1/2 a can (a full can wont hurt if you have a fairly full basin already)of sprite/7up once or twice a week works just fine.Just make sure the basin stays full.If it goes completely dry,you'll have problems with the end drying out/dying and then its hard to "feed" it and get the water/nutrients/sugar back into the rest of the tree.So be sure the end always stays wet.

Also, if you're buying a real tree,once you've gotten it home and ready to put it in the tree-stand, cut about an inch off of the bottom end of the trunk of the tree that will be sitting in the stand.Before trees are shipped to retailers,the distributor coats the bottoms with a sealer so the stores dont have to keep them in water constantly until sale.Or even some that dont,by the time the tree sells,the cut-end of the base of the trunk is very dried out/dead.So if you dont cut this off(and it doesnt have to be much,just an inch or so) then when you watter it,the sealer or driedout/dead end of the tree will not absorb the water very well causing your tree to wilt,turn brown and drop needles much sooner.Its just like trimming the ends of fresh flowers before putting them in a vase,fresh cut ends helps provide a source for the nutrients/water to be absorbed and keep them looking pretty/healthy longer.


Another way to keep a tree lasting longers is flocking.I know this trend comes and goes through the different seasons.But having a tree flocked does help keep it looking better longer.For those who dont know what flocking is, its a process that alot of professional nurseries and some tree farms offer that they spray the tree with a mxiture of chemicals and particulate matter that leaves the tree looking like it is covered in snow.Ofcourse most places charge extra for this.(google "flocked christmas trees" and you'll find plenty of examples).Ofcourse you always have some weirdo who wants a colored-flock tree.We did it all.I remember my dad being comissioned to do blue,red,green etc. colored flocked trees.I personally thought that was stupid and defeating the purpose of having a flocked tree since the flocking is supposed to give the effect of a snow covered tree,and I've never seen snow in any color other than white,but to each his own.If they were willing to pay for it,we did it.

I remember sitting for hours watching my dad flock trees when we owned our nursery.It was beautiful to see a tree transformed into a pretty snow covered winter-scape all its own and watching the flocking process was like seeing my dad create a little snow flurry storm all around him.

Just my $.02 here,but it comes from experience.My family has been around the nursery/horticulture business a looong time.I grew up and worked around our nursery and I cant even count how many years my dad worked there,plus both my uncles who owned/ran the nursery had degrees in Horticulture from TX A&M.So I'm not pulling you leg with this info.

"...just an earthbound misfit, I."

[squirrel 0]

we always buy a live tree, then after the holidays, plant it in the yard.

________________________________
Where is Darwin when you need him?