The holidays wouldn’t be the same without fresh-cut fir, cedar, and pine filling the air with their nostalgic fragrance. But just like any cut botanical stem, a cut Christmas tree or evergreen bough is perishable – over time, its beauty and fragrance fades. Fortunately, fresh-cut wintergreens last a lot longer than most cut stems, and there are several things we can do to help extend that time even longer. Our team works with mountains of fresh-cut wintergreens every year, and here, we share some of our favorite tips for keeping fresh-cut decorations – Christmas trees, outdoor containers, centerpieces, wreaths, or garlands – fresh and beautiful through the holiday season and beyond.
Keep the Moisture Coming
Dehydration is the main reason cut wintergreens can’t last forever. Once a tree or bough is separated from its root system, it loses its ability to replenish the moisture that continues to escape through its needles. Once it’s cut, the “clock” starts ticking, so to speak, and slowly the tree or bough begins to brown and become fragile. Warmth and dryness speed up this “clock” while cool temperatures and moisture slow it down. So anything we can do to provide additional moisture to cut wintergreens will extend the time we get to enjoy them. Because wintergreens absorb moisture through their stems and lose it through their needles, providing moisture to both areas has big benefits.
Water the Stems
Fresh-Cut Trees
When purchasing a real Christmas tree, you’ll want to be sure it gets a fresh cut before you take it home or when you get home. If you purchase your tree here at our store, we’ll give it a fresh cut for you before tying it to your vehicle. Making that new cut reopens the water-conducting veins that have sealed off and allows the tree to draw up water again.
As soon as you’re able, set your tree in a tree stand that holds at least a gallon of water, and be sure the water level in the stand never drops below the base of the trunk. If you won’t be able to do this within the first hour and a half after the tree was last cut, you’ll want to plan to cut off the bottom half-inch of the trunk before you place it in water. A fresh-cut tree with a constant source of water can stay safe and beautiful for a month – even in the warm, dry air in our homes.
Fresh-Cut Boughs
We can provide moisture to the stems of fresh-cut boughs too. To get the maximum amount of time from your boughs, a great thing to do is to make fresh cuts on the bottom of all the stems and stick them in a bucket of water for a couple days after you get home. This step isn’t absolutely necessary, but the extra time to drink allows each stem to fully hydrate again before it’s time to decorate.
When it’s time to create your design, snip off another quarter inch or so from the bottom of each stem and set them in another water source. If you’re creating a centerpiece, you can use a vase filled with water, or you can fill a small container with green florist’s foam to hold water and secure the stems in place. If your wintergreens are part of an outdoor container arrangement, potting soil is an effective and economical way to hold moisture and provide support for the stems. Just be sure to keep the soil watered well until it freezes, and if it thaws, you may need to water it again.
Water the Needles
Fresh wintergreen wreaths and garland are made of hundreds of tiny cut boughs – it’s impossible to give each one a fresh cut and place it in water every day. So instead we have to think about minimizing moisture lost through the needles.
Outside, a cold drizzle or light snow helps slow moisture loss from the foliage. Inside our homes, we can replace the benefits of this natural precipitation with a daily misting on the wintergreen foliage. But when the weather has been dry and sunny, even outdoor wreaths, garland, and container arrangements benefit from misting the foliage.
Keep Them Cool
Another way to slow moisture loss from fresh-cut wintergreens is to keep them as cool as possible. Indoors, that means keeping your Christmas tree and other wintergreen decorations away from sunlight, furnace vents, and the fireplace as much as possible. Outdoors, pick a spot for your outdoor container, wreath, or garland that’s protected from the sun – such as the north side of the house or under a porch awning. If that’s not practical, just be sure to mist the foliage more often and water the potting mix in containers consistently to replace the moisture that’s lost.
Recruit Wilt-Pruf
Wilt-Pruf is a product that landscapers spray on broadleaf evergreens such as rhododendron and holly to reduce moisture loss through their foliage. It’s made of natural pine oils that coat the foliage and slow the damaging loss of moisture that these plants can suffer during the winter.
We’ve found that Wilt-Pruf also significantly lengthens the time that wintergreen boughs remain fresh and green. Our team applies Wilt-Pruf to all the premade wintergreens arrangements, wreaths, and garland we have at the store, and you can spray the arrangements you create too. Wilt-Pruf works best when the foliage is healthy and well-hydrated, so be sure your greens have had a good drink of water before you spray. And if you plan to keep your wintergreens on display after the holidays have passed, it’s a good idea to give them another coat of Wilt-Pruf after the New Year.
We Can Help
If you have a fresh-cut tree, wreath, garland, or container arrangement – indoors or out – and you have questions about how to keep it green and beautiful, just ask. We know all about fresh-cut greens, and we love offering suggestions.
