Christmas tree care

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My husband wants to know what you can put in the water to make it last longer. He thought it might be epson salts or asprin, but can't remember. Thanks in advance.

-- cynthia (cynthiahemenway@hotmail.com), December 09, 2000

Answers

I used to have a recipe for this that called for using cheap white soda (glucose), some chelated iron (drug store), and a tiny bit of bleach (2-3 drops) to keep down the bacteria. I've put aspirin and sugar in water with cut flowers, but I am skeptical as to whether it really helped prolong their 'life'. The iron is to green it up.

-- Julie Froelich (firefly1@nnex.net), December 10, 2000.

I know someone who puts clear soda pop in her cut flowers with the water and her flowers last and last. I'm gonna try it in my tree this year. What the heck. God bless, Q.

-- Queen (queenbuffness@hotmail.com), December 10, 2000.

Another forum was recommending spraying the tree with Wiltpruff to cut down on transpiration.I don't know about the flamability issue on that,so you would want to check on it.

-- sharon wt (wildflower@ekyol.com), December 10, 2000.

Or whether the Wilt-Pruf is something you want in your house! I THINK it might be okay, but I'd read the label carefully.

I sure wish they wouldn't spray paint the trees green -- I don't like it at all!

-- Joy Froelich (dragnfly@chorus.net), December 10, 2000.


I have always heard about putting aspirin in the water. For those of you who haven't put your tree up yet, and for those of you that have and are tired of watering the darn thing everyday try this! Get a 5 gallon bucket, put tree trunk in the middle, now add stones. You may want to tie it to the wall to be sure it doesn't fall over. Now sit back, relax, enjoy your holiday and water once a week! Merry Christmas everyone!

Michael in North-West Pennsylvania

-- Michael W. Smith (KIRKLBB@PENN.COM), December 10, 2000.



Here's another recipe I just refound...1 gallon hot water, 1/4 cup microinized iron, 2 C. light corn syrup, 4 tsp. bleach. Mix together and use as first watering for cut tree (always make a fresh cut when you bring tree in, about 2" up from the butt). Refill when needed with plain water. You could skip the iron I'm sure.

-- Julie Froelich (firefly1@nnex.net), December 11, 2000.

Biggest thing to remember is to cut off a bit of the trunk (an inch?) JUST before you put it in the water-filled stand. The sap will begin to seal very quickly after you cut it. A "bought" tree, even if freshly cut, will seal and begin to block the uptake of water very soon. GL!

-- Brad (homefixer@SacoRiver.net), December 11, 2000.

The best and easiest recipe is 50% water and 50% white Karo syrup (white only!!!). A christmas tree will take up to a gallon+ the first 24 hours. If you want to save time and money next christmas and beyond, grow your own in a 5 gallon bucket (or smaller, depending on what size you want), trim, and bring inside every year, free! When I did this I started with ten different trees, as they grew I picked the one that was the keeper, and transplanted the rest on the property.

-- Michael (michaelld@att.net), December 15, 2000.

We never used anything in the water and we keep our tree up till Valentine's Day. I thought when I had 5 acres of forest I could cut my own, but it just seems like every tree on the property is really where it needs to be...so we go down the road to the U-cut Xmas tree farm and pay $50 (for a 14 footer), so we try to get our money's worth out of it.

-- snoozy (allen@oz.net), December 15, 2000.

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