How to Care for Your Premium Fresh Cut Christmas Tree

When a Christmas tree is cut, more than half its weight is water. With proper care, you can maintain the quality of your tree.

About our fresh green trees

Our premium fresh trees are family grown right here in Oregon by our partners at Youngberg Tree Farm. We're proud to support local farmers, growers and ranchers.

Below are our most important tips on caring for your tree: • To display the trees indoors, use a stand with an adequate water holding capacity for the tree. As a general rule, stands should provide 1 quart of water per inch of stem diameter. • Make a fresh cut to remove about a 1/2-inch thick disk of wood from the base of the trunk before putting the tree in the stand. Make the cut perpendicular to the stem axis.

• Once home, place the tree in water as soon as possible. Most species can go 6 to 8 hours after cutting the trunk and still take up water.

• Check the stand daily to make sure that the level of water does not go below the base of the tree. With many stands, there can still be water in the stand even though the base of the tree is no longer submerged in water. • Keep trees away from major sources of heat (fireplaces, heaters, heat vents, direct sunlight). • Use of lights that produce low heat, such as LED miniature lights, will reduce drying of the tree. • Always turn off the tree lights when leaving the house or when going to bed.

Flocked Trees

Wilco’s premium fresh cut flocked Noble fir Christmas trees are custom flocked by our local teams. The flocking material is made of paper pulp for fiber, corn starch as adhesive, and boron for flame retardant. Care instructions for your flocked tree: • Remove tree from plastic transport bag. • Follow the same care and watering instructions as for green trees above. • Resist touching the flocking.

Recycling

Most cities and/or refuse haulers offer free pickup of Christmas trees during a specific window after Christmas. Many even allow recycling/pickup of flocked trees also. For example, Oregon City, Damascus, Gladstone, Happy Valley, Lake Oswego, West Linn and Wilsonville all allow for flocked tree recycling as part of regular debris pickup. Check with your city or garbage hauler for specific information for your area.

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We would love to see your festive fresh-cut tree, use #mywilcolife on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram and tag Wilco Stores.