Scottish Christmas Trees

Disposing of Christmas trees can be a real issue for some people yet it needn’t be. Here is one novel way to deal with your Christmas tree.

First, be sure to remove all decorations including lights and especially tinsel. Lay an old sheet or blanket on the floor and gently lay your tree down on the sheet or blanket. If there are two people working together, this makes taking the tree outside easier. Just wrap the tree, grab an end each, and take it outside.

Christmas trees were once living. If you place your tree outside and keep it reasonably hydrated then you may get another month from the tree. Needle drop will be much higher as the tree ages, but since it’s outside this shouldn’t matter.

Place the tree back in its stand, or find another method of keeping the tree upright. Place dried berries, pieces of suet (yes suet) and wild bird treats on the branches of the tree. Step back and over time the wild birds in your area will use your old Christmas tree as a haven and food source. Eventually all the needles will have dropped off.

Once the needles have dropped off, hire a mulcher and mulch the bare trunk and branches. Spread this over your garden late in spring to help keep moisture in your garden and the weeds down.

A Christmas tree with multiple uses – you enjoy it over Christmas, the bird life gets to enjoy it after Christmas, and your garden gets to enjoy it in late spring.

From all of us here at Scottish Christmas Trees – have a wonderful and safe Christmas. Be sure to check back with us in 2010 for news on our next crop of award-winning Christmas trees.

As we wind down and look forward to a well earned rest during the Christmas-New Year period, it’s a good time to reflect on what has been a great year here at Scottish Christmas Trees.  It has been exciting yet at times challenging. We had a lot of rain when we didn’t really want it, but we survived and, more importantly, so too did our trees.

We were very proud and very honoured to win the best pot grown Christmas tree category at the 2009 British Christmas Tree Growers Association (BCGTA) competition. As a team, it is recognition for the amount of care and attention we give all our Christmas trees. The tree shown here is our award winning potted Norway Spruce Christmas tree.

Our biggest challenge has come in the last month as we did our best to supply as many Christmas trees as possible. Unfortunately for some, we completely sold out of all our Christmas trees, potted and cut. The challenge now is to try and produce even more for next Christmas. Since Christmas trees have a 10-12 month growth period, it will indeed be a real challenge.

It has once again been shown how popular potted and freshly cut Christmas trees are. We get requests to send our Christmas trees all over Britain – a task we are happy to fulfill. We even managed to save a few Christmas trees for our highly successful open day earlier this month.

After a short break it will be back to work preparing for next year’s crop of Christmas trees – it’s a good thing we love our job!

There are many people visiting our website hoping we have Christmas trees still in stock. Unfortunately, they are leaving disappointed. We are disappointed we can’t help them too, however, we do have one or two suggestions to make.

My first suggestion is to simply bookmark our home page in your browser. Better yet, create a Christmas folder in your bookmark section and save us to the folder.  Next year, as Christmas approaches, you will have a reminder sitting there. Contact us early in November and you can order your Christmas tree for delivery on a day to suit.

A second suggestion is to subscribe to the posts on this page. Throughout the year we post regular snippets on Christmas trees, news relating to the progress of next season’s Christmas trees, and helpful tips for looking after potted Christmas trees, if you have one.

Real Christmas trees seem to be increasing in popularity every year. We seem to be selling more and selling out earlier as each year passes.  By bookmarking our site, or subscribing to our feed, you will at least get some sort of reminder as Christmas gets closer next year.

Remember, we only sell real Christmas trees, cut or in pots, that have come direct from our farms here in Scotland. You cannot get any fresher than that.

Potted Christmas trees are great, really. They are the kind of purchase you make once every five or six years – if they grow too big that is. Looking after your potted Christmas tree over the Christmas period is the first step to ensuring your tree does survive.

Looking after potted Christmas trees is really no different to looking after cut Christmas trees. If you take good care of the potted tree, you should experience little in the way of needle drop and the tree should look like bright and fresh all day long. It certainly shouldn’t have that droopy look that some plants seem to get when brought inside.

Remember, it’s winter and the potted Christmas tree is acclimatised to that. Keeping it as cool as possible is therefore an important part of looking after your tree. Simple tasks like switching the Christmas lights off overnight can help a lot – it gives the tree a break from any heat generated by the lights.

Keeping your potted tree well watered is the second important part of looking after your tree. Whilst inside, the soil should never completely dry out.  Keeping the soil moist allows the tree to absorb as much water as it needs when it needs it. Let it dry out and the first thing the tree will do is stop water flowing to the needles – the result, of course, is dropped needles.

Look after your potted Christmas tree – there are only two steps – keep it cool and keep it well watered, and it will survive the Christmas period. Look after it well after Christmas and it will survive through to next Christmas – but that is a story for another day.

Looking after your Christmas wreath is no different to looking after your Christmas tree with one exception – your wreath is outside and subject to the elements. For this reason, keeping it as cool as possible is not always possible, particularly if the door its mounted on gets the full sun.

The full sun may not have a lot of strength in it at this time of year but that doesn’t mean it won’t affect your Christmas wreath. Wind is also another factor that needs to be taken into account. The wind may be cold but it can still suck what moisture is left out of your wreath.

It can be quite tricky keeping your wreath hydrated. If you add water to the front of the wreath the moisture may effect some of your decorations, particularly if you have decorations that have been handpainted by children. The easiest way to keep your wreath hydrated is by spraying a light mist of water each day on the back of the wreath. Don’t use too much water, just a light spray will do the trick.

Where sun is a problem on your door, check to see how much sun your wreath does get. You will often find that the lower part of the door gets more sun than the upper. If that is the case, place your wreath as high up as possible – not too high, of course; people still want to see it. Use a damp cloth to brush away any excess water and the wreath is ready to remount on your door. Look after your wreath and it will still look great on Christmas Day.

Having a Christmas tree that has been decorated and looking fabulous doesn’t mean you should ignore it. Like everything in life, a little maintenance will ensure your Christmas tree and your Christmas decorations maintain that fabulous look. We have already discussed maintaining both your tree and your Christmas lights, but what about your Christmas decorations?

They need some maintenance and general care but it’s not an onerous task and should only take a couple of minutes each day. You can perform these tasks at the same time as watering the tree and giving the lights a quick once-over.

The only tool you need is a damp cloth. Start by giving each bauble a quick wipe-over. This will remove any dust and bring the gloss back. You can do the same with any of your other decorations.

Once you have wiped down your decorations, give the lights a quick check to ensure all are working okay. Top up the water for the Christmas tree and you are done – maximum ten minutes each day. It may only be ten minutes, but that ten minutes will ensure your tree stays fresh and your decorations stay glossy throughout Christmas.

Keeping your Christmas decorations clean and shiny means they will maintain their condition for many years to come. Let them becomes clouded with dust and over time that dust will cause minute scratches – scratches that lead to your decorations losing their glossy finish.

One of the biggest dangers that any home faces over the Christmas period is fire. One cause of fire is through carelessness when it comes to Christmas trees. Surprisingly, one of the easiest ways to help prevent a Christmas tree from catching fire is to keep it well hydrated.

Dry Christmas trees are no different to any other dry vegetable matter. They will ignite quite readily if provided with an ignition source. This could be poorly maintained Christmas lights, or, more often, having a very dry Christmas tree to close to a heater or open fire.

To prevent fire danger, and to ensure you have a happy and safe Christmas, follow these handy hints.

Keep your Christmas tree well watered.

Keep your Christmas tree well away from any naked flames or high heat sources.

Regularly check your Christmas lights to ensure everything is working well.

Turn your Christmas lights off when retiring each night.

Turn off any heat sources that are close to a Christmas tree when retiring each night.

It’s a very simple principle. A dry Christmas tree exposed to an ignition source could catch fire. A well-watered Christmas tree that is not exposed to an ignition source will stay happy and healthy throughout the Christmas period. Instead of bringing danger, let your Christmas tree bring joy to all who see it.

When looking at how quickly our Christmas trees have disappeared again this year it’s pretty clear they remain as popular as ever. When you consider the differences between cut Christmas trees and the alternatives, you would be excused for wondering why. I think the alternatives probably lack that little bit of uniqueness that a cut tree offers. But then, rather than try to guess why they are so popular, why not let our buyers tell why they are so special. And they do. Here are some snippets from the feedback we get from our customers.

“……no fiddle with choosing one, no fight to get it into the car just a lovely tree delivered to our door….”

“…..the tree is absolutely beautiful, full and bushy and a wonderful shape. I just wish you could put smell-o-vision on the internet, the whole house is filled with the most Christmassy aroma and has got us all in the festive spirit….”

“Our Christmas tree arrived today as per the schedule and it is absolutely marvellous! We couldn’t have hand picked a better one – lovely shape, excellent condition….”

“…..It is so soft it doesn’t feel like a real tree but it looks amazing, we only wished we had ordered a bigger one…..”

This is just a smattering of the feedback we get yet each Christmas we look forward to hearing what people have to say. When we know that one of our Christmas trees has helped to make the Christmas season so special – it makes all our hard work over the years worth effort. Do let us know your thoughts if you have purchased a Christmas tree from Scottish Christmas Trees – it helps to make our Christmas special too.

There is something magic about a Christmas tree fully decorated. This is especially so early in the evening when the flashing Christmas lights are at their best. As special as they look – there is nothing sadder than to see a Christmas tree with the needles turning yellow and dropping all over the floor.

Christmas trees are like cut flowers. To stay fresh and looking their best they need a little TLC and it really only takes a moment or two each day. First and foremost is water. Christmas trees like to have their feet wet once they have been cut. Be sure they have plenty of water to drink.

Lack of water is a Christmas tree’s biggest enemy and sometimes, despite keeping its feet wet, it will still start to dehydrate and drop needles. This is caused by one of two things: being too close to a heat source like an open fire, an electric heater or too close to a window that gets full sun; or being exposed to a draft that is either too warm or too persistent. It is hard to think of a draft as having any effect on a plant, but moving air takes with it water – just like the washing on your line.

That then is all it takes. Keep your Christmas tree well hydrated and you won’t see any discolouration or suffer from severe needle drop. It will last through to Christmas Day looking as fresh as the day you brought it indoors.

With ten days left until Christmas day most people will have their Christmas trees up and fully decorated. For children, the countdown to Christmas day is well and truly underway whilst for this years Christmas dinner, preparations will no doubt be underway. What about your Christmas dinner presentation?

Many of us have a Christmas table cloth that gets its annual workout on Christmas day, possibly festive placemats, yuletide serviettes and maybe even a special dinner setting. What about table top decorations? The silver spiral tree (pictured) stands 40cm and looks spectacular with its 24 static LED lights and arrangement of small red and blue baubles.

This table top Christmas decoration will certainly create a talking point and children will sit in awe – perhaps producing their quietest Christmas in many years (no guarantees there, of course). It will certainly add some character to your Christmas dinner this year.

Christmas is one of the last truly traditional festivals left. Easter is still big in many communities but nowhere near as big as the Christmas period. Christmas trees, Christmas wreaths, Christmas lights and Christmas decorations are everywhere you look. There is no other annual celebration that brings the world together with such festivity.

How are you spending Christmas this year? Is your Christmas tree ready to go; are your Christmas decorations up and looking good? What about your diner table, is that decorated to reflect the season?