Pine and dandy
Choosing your tree is the best way to get in the mood for Christmas. Here is all you need-le to know about the best fir for your family
HOLD on to your Christmas party hats. It’s time for a whistle-stop tour of festive firs and splendid spruces so you know precisely where to be hanging your stars this holiday season.
A popular decoration since Prince Albert popped one up in Windsor Castle in the 1840s, we now buy more than eight million Christmas trees a year in the UK.
I’m not knocking artificial trees – they are low-maintenance, longlasting and, when well decorated, it is difficult to spot the difference. But I always go for a real one.
Nothing gets you more in the festive mood, and they fill the room with the smell of pure Christmas.
When choosing your tree, it is best to buy one that is not yet netted so you can assess it for shape and symmetry. You want one that looks great from all angles and has plenty of branches for your decorations.
It’s also good to take your time sifting through individual specimens to find one that is not overly dry before you buy so you are not fighting a losing battle in your living room.
The secret is to saw an inch off the trunk when you get it home and stand it in water before bringing it indoors.
If the trunk dries up when it is being transported and sold, it seals. Cutting it exposes live tissue that can better take up water. The more water the tree drinks, the longer it will hold its needles.
As with cut flowers, trimming the trunk helps the tree hydrate more readily.
Put your tree in a cooler spot in the house, away from radiators and open fires, to help it retain water and stay healthier for longer.
If you’ve got an existing tree in a pot, use a cool porch or garage to acclimatise it before bringing it in and again, before putting it out after Christmas. Otherwise the shock of the temperature changing suddenly can damage or kill it.
If you are buying a live tree, beware containergrown varieties that have had their roots in that pot for a long time. Check the roots are not wrapped tight around the bottom of the pot or knotted.
Containerised trees that have been grown in the ground, dug up and stuck in a pot can also struggle long term. Because of the stress, there is a risk they won’t survive replanting afterwards.
If you are choosing a cut tree, it is great to know a little bit about the varieties on offer and how to get the best out of them when they are up.
There are three main types of tree you are likely to see on sale – Norway spruce (Picea abies), Nordmann fir (Abies nordmanniana), and the blue spruce (Picea pungens).
The Norway spruce is the traditional tree for British homes.
It is the one Prince Albert put up in Windsor Castle and the one everyone had when I was a kid. It has bundles of thin branches covered in dainty dark green needles and comes with that gorgeous pine scent that, as far as I’m concerned, is the smell of Christmas.
Because it is a fast grower, the Norway spruce is cheaper than other varieties and is still a solid favourite across the UK.
Of course, anyone who has ever seen a Norway spruce has probably also seen a bald Norway spruce as this variety has a horrible habit of
dropping its needles. If, like me, you have young children around, you might prefer to avoid this tree altogether to protect their little feet.
For some, however, the marvellous seasonal scent is worth the hassle.
If this is you, then a great way to reduce needle drop is to buy your spruce direct from a local grower. Locally grown trees have usually been harvested more recently than imported ones and will hold on to their needles more readily.
Popping your tree in sugary water and watering daily will also help with needle retention.
Christmas trees can drink as much as two pints a day in the first week they are indoors.
Another popular option is the Nordmann fir.
These are recognisable by their plump green needles with a silver underside that stand proudly off branches, giving them a puffy, cloud-like appearance.
Slower growing than the Norway spruce, these trees are often more expensive. The difference is roughly an extra
£15 for a five or six-foot tree. But, kept watered, they are far better at holding on to those lovely needles all advent long.
However, these firs do not give off much Christmas scent.
If fallen needles are your bugbear then, smell or no smell, this may be the tree for you.
The blue spruce is another more recent addition to the line-up but it certainly earns its place at the Christmas celebration. Don’t be fooled by the name, mind you. Unlike its cousin the Norway spruce, the blue spruce hangs on to those needles just as well as any Nordmann fir.
And like the Nordmann, it also has chunkier needles that stand proud like the bristles on a brush. Price-wise it usually falls somewhere between the Norway spruce and the Nordmann fir, making it an affordable non-needle-dropping option.
Yet, by far the best thing about this tree is its incredible colour – its needles are an ice blue on muted yellow stems.
They look fantastic with a cool colour scheme of twinkling white lights, sparkling silver baubles and a Christmas angel on top. Again, this may not be the one if you have small children around as its needles come to an especially sharp point at the end. The “pungens” part of its Latin name means sharply pointed.
And once more, good needle retention makes for a lack of fresh Christmas tree fragrance.
So there is my gift to you. You now know the pros and cons of each type of Christmas tree and can make the right choice for your family.
As with cut flowers, trimming the trunk helps it hydrate.