Our fresh farm Christmas trees are over 50% water by weight when they are first cut. You can best maintain their quality by following these suggestions:

1. If displaying in your own stand, make sure the tree base gets a fresh cut. You can use our free cutting service, or do it yourself. Only a ½-inch disk need be removed.
2. We recommend hosing down the tree to remove any loose needles, then allowing the tree to dry before bringing inside.
3. Place freshly cut base in water, or fill stand bowl with water as soon as possible. Most trees can go 6-8 hours after a cut and still take up water. Don’t bruise the cut surface or get it dirty. 
4. Use stands with adequate water supply. A rule-of-thumb is to use a stand with 1 qt. per inch of tree stem diameter.
5. Check stand daily to make sure water level is above base of the tree. Refill the stand with cold tap water as needed.
6. Using hot water or other additives (aspirin, sugar, bleach, preservative, etc.) has not been shown to be of benefit. Some additives may even cause harm by sealing the tree base.
7. Keep trees away from heat sources (fireplaces, vents, sunlight). Your tree will last longer in cooler temperatures.
8. We recommend placing a waterproof layer and an absorbent layer (e.g. a garbage bag and old towel) below the tree stand to catch any water spills or leaks.
9. If using a nailed-on stand, do not try to adjust tree position by bending the tree in it’s stand as this can break the waterproof seal. Rather, place shims under one or more stand legs.
10. See http://www.recycleworks.org/resident/treelist.html for recycling instructions in your area.