How to care for your Mail Order Christmas Trees
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Once you receive your Mail Order Christmas Tree, keep it in a sheltered, unheated area
such as a porch or garage to protect it from the wind and sun until you're ready to decorate it.
We recommend that you keep your Mail Order Christmas Tree bundled and in its wax lined box
until it is time to bring your Christmas Tree into your home.
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If you will be storing your Mail Order Christmas Tree for more than one week or your climate is very warm, remove it from the box, leave it bundled and place it in a bucket of water, giving the trunk’s butt a fresh cut first and not allowing the water to go dry.
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DeLong Farms recommends that before you set up your Mail Order Christmas Tree, make a fresh, straight cut across the base of the trunk (about one to two inches up from the original cut). Mother Nature has created a seal of natural sap which helps the Christmas Tree from drying out during shipping.
If this seal is not removed (by this fresh cut) your Mail Order Christmas Tree will not take up water.
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Next place the Christmas Tree in a tree stand that holds at least two gallons of water. After you have the tree standing straight from all angles, cut the cord which binds the tree starting at the top and working down. Then let the tree fall out naturally, do not pull at the branches.
We like to let our tree fall out over night.
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Do not be alarmed if your Christmas Tree looses needles at first. This is natural to the Balsam Fir and does not indicate your tree is dry. There are quite a few discoloured needles close to the trunk of the tree where sun has not reached that will fall over the next couple of days but this will slow down.
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Caring for your real Mail Order Christmas Tree is easy. The most important thing to remember is that real Christmas Trees need water daily,
Never let your Christmas Tree stand go dry.
A seal of dried sap will form over the cut stump if the water drops below the base of the tree, preventing the tree from absorbing water when the Christmas Tree stand is refilled. If a seal does form, another fresh cut will need to be made. (and who wants to take down their tree once it is decorated)
A Mail Order Christmas Tree will absorb over one gallon of water in the first 24 hours and one or more quarts a day thereafter.
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Do not think that just because the Christmas Tree didn't drink any water the first day that it's not going to get thirstier. Be sure to check the water level every day and keep at least two gallons of water in the stand. Water is important because it prevents the needles from drying and the boughs from drooping.
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There are quite a few tales out there regarding what should be added to your tree’s water, 7-up, sugar, aspirin, and many more remedies. Osmosis happens from weak to strong, and a mixture of sugar too strong will actually drain your tree instead of feeding it. A tree’s capillaries clogged with a sugar will only result in your Mail Order Christmas Tree not taking in any further water.
DeLong Farms recommends just plain water.