Real Christmas trees come in all different shapes and sizes when you get them from a tree nursery or store. Learn how to trim them if you want to achieve the even, conical shape of a typical Christmas tree, and make it suit the height and space you have available for displaying it in your home.
Consider the height you need. Measure ahead of time to find out the height of the ceiling where you plan to put your Christmas tree. Take along a tape measure to observe and compare the height of the tree.
- Note that you will also be adding the height of your tree stand to the total height. Measure the height of your stand ahead of time and factor it into your calculations.
- You will be able to trim off some height from the trunk of a Christmas tree, but don’t plan on dramatically shortening a tall tree to make it fit in your home. It may be too difficult or impossible to saw off a large portion of the tree.
- If you get your tree from a nursery or store, staff may be able to trim the trunk of the tree for you when you purchase it. Just make sure you can get the tree into water shortly thereafter.
- If you want to shorten the tree slightly to fit the height of your ceiling, cut off a larger portion of the trunk. Just remember that you will likely need a decent section of the trunk clear of branches to fit it into a tree stand.
- Trimming the trunk is essential to the tree absorbing water and staying fresh, so make sure you cut off at least a half inch even if you don’t need to alter the height at all.
- Make sure that you are not removing so many branches that there will be large chunks of the tree missing when you’re done. If a tree looks like it has a lot of dry or dead branches to begin with, don’t buy it.
- Test dry branches by gentling shaking them and observing how many needles fall off; if more than half, the branch is probably too dry. Also bend needles in half; they should snap if from a fir tree and not break at all if from a pine.
- Use pruning shears, hedge clippers, or a shearing knife to remove any branches.
- The top center branch is important to keep and trim to a sturdy length, so you can use it as a support for a tree topper, like a star or angel, if you choose to decorate with one.
- Remove any other longer branches that appear to be competing for the center branch.
- In general, for the classic look, you’ll want the base of the branches to be widest with the circumference getting gradually smaller as you go up to the top, which ends in a tapered point.
- The ideal proportion for most Christmas trees is a “two-thirds taper,” which means that the base of the three is two-thirds as wide as the height. So, a six-foot-tall tree would ideally have a four-foot-wide base.
- Try to cut as little of the branches as possible, sticking to the lighter green new growth. Don’t cut into the old growth (which is characterized by a darker green color, usually) unless you must.
- Avoid shaving the bark off a tree trunk to get it to fit into a smaller tree stand opening. You want to leave on the outer layers of wood, which are the most efficient in taking up water.
- Use a tree skirt to cover up the tree stand and create a visually appealing place to put presents. Just remember to lift the skirt up periodically to check and fill the water.
- A good indication of how much water your tree needs is to measure the diameter of the trunk at its base. The number of inches is the same number of quarts that should be available to your tree in the tree stand.
- If your tree doesn’t get enough water after being cut, it will form a seal of sap over the cut end, which you will need to cut off to allow it to absorb more water. Try to place your tree in water as soon as possible after it is cut.
- Despite some common theories, adding sugary drinks or any other substance to the water in the tree stand does not help the tree to maintain its freshness. Always fill with clean, pure water.
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