Your Christmas tree

Four to five weeks

Four to five weeks is a fair expectation for a fresh-cut tree that never runs dry, and a Fraser fir can go a little longer. A tree bought Thanksgiving weekend should reach Christmas Day in good shape. Keep it away from heat vents and fireplaces, and make a fresh cut before it goes in the stand.

How do I keep it fresh the longest? Saw about a half inch off the trunk, straight across, and get it in water within a few hours. Check the stand every day, and keep the tree out of direct sun and away from anything that gives off heat.

A quart a day per inch

A tree can use up to one quart of water a day for each inch of trunk width, so a four-inch trunk can take up to a gallon. Check the stand every day and keep the water above the base of the trunk. The stand should hold at least a quart per inch of trunk.

How often should I check the water? Every day. A tree may take up a gallon in its first 24 hours and about a quart a day after that.

Plain tap water

Plain tap water is what the National Christmas Tree Association says to use. Research has found some commercial additives and home mixtures can actually make a tree hold less moisture. Aspirin and sugar aren't needed, so put your effort into keeping the stand full.

Do store-bought tree preservatives help? They aren't needed. University extension offices say plain water keeps a tree fresh.

Soon after the trees arrive

There's no official date, but a tree bought soon after it reaches the lot is usually the freshest, since it was cut recently. Many lots open around Thanksgiving, and a tree bought that weekend, November 27 to 29 in 2026, has four weeks to reach Christmas. Waiting too long means fewer good trees to choose from.

Can I buy early and keep it outside? Yes. Cut an inch off the trunk, stand it in a bucket of water in an unheated garage out of the wind, and cut it fresh again when it comes inside.

Run a branch through your hand

Close your hand around a branch and pull toward the tip, and the needles should stay on. Bend an outer branch, and it should give without snapping. Faded color, wrinkled bark or a musty smell mean it's too dry, so try another tree or another lot.

Should the lot drop the tree on the ground? It's a fair test. Raise it a few inches and let the trunk hit the ground. A few green needles are fine, and inner brown ones fall off any tree.

By Epiphany, or once it's dry

There's no rule. Many Christian homes keep the tree up through the Twelve Days and take it down around Epiphany, January 6. A real tree should come down sooner if it goes dry, and the US Fire Administration says to get rid of it after Christmas or when it is dry.

Is it bad luck to leave it up past January 6? That's an old superstition from the English-speaking world, and that's all it is. The real concern with a late tree is a dry one.

Recycle it. Never burn it.

Take off every ornament and strand of tinsel, then check with your town or county. Many collect trees at the curb in the two weeks after Christmas, and most counties have free drop-off sites where trees get chipped into mulch. Never burn one in a fireplace or wood stove.

Can I leave it in the yard for the birds? Yes, once every decoration, hook and strand of tinsel is off. It makes a good bird feeder.