Caring for Balsam Fir Christmas Trees and Wreaths: Tips from Nova Scotia

Please follow this link to the first half of this article - Choosing Balsam Fir Christmas Trees and Wreaths: Tips from Nova Scotia

“After vigilantly selecting and harvesting your Balsam fir, a little maintenance and care can go a long way in keeping your Holiday greenery nice and fresh,” explains Patricia DeLong, of DeLong Farms Christmas Trees and Wreaths. If hanging your Balsam fir Christmas wreath outdoors, the wreath will easily keep over the Christmas season. The cool winter frost and moist atmosphere provides the ideal conditions for not only keeping Balsam fir fresher for longer periods of time, but also helps to preserve the color and fragrance of the needles if you should choose to keep them after the holiday season. Inside, however, in ideal indoor conditions, a Balsam fir Christmas tree or wreath can be expected to last, on average, for around a month or so. There are, luckily, a few specific steps of care one can take to preserve their Balsam fir tree or wreath, and a few more trade secrets to keep your Balsam fir smelling fresh long after the Christmas season.

Trimming a Balsam Fir Christmas Tree

After felling a Balsam fir Christmas tree, take care to preserve the cut. This simple action of separating the tree from the roots has created an opening for not only moisture to go in, but for it to escape as well. A Balsam fir, when cut, protects itself by seeping sap that will create a barrier between the sensitive system of the tree and the harsh, dry air outside. If allowed to sit too long after being cut, without being placed in a stand with water, the Balsam fir will essentially plug the butt of the cut and draw no water afterwards; drying it out that much quicker. This is why Patricia DeLong suggests, “If the tree was not felled immediately before, trim the bottom of the tree by a few inches to open the system so it will draw water again.” If you are purchasing a tree through mail order or from a tree lot, take the time to saw and trim the end to re-open the system, and keep a healthy fragrant Balsam fir Christmas tree significantly longer.

Watering

The moisture in the Balsam fir's system is very important for keeping it full and fragrant over the Christmas season. A Balsam fir Christmas tree will draw a significant amount of water in the first day; up to a single gallon in twenty-four hours. After that it will continue to draw a few quarts a day. Needless to say, keeping your Balsam fir Christmas tree well watered is very important. Patricia DeLong suggests keeping, “At least two gallons in the stand at all times. If the Balsam fir runs out of water, it will only seal over again, leaving you to take the tree down and re-cut the end again.” To save yourself the unpleasantries of having to take down a fully grown and intricately decorated Christmas tree to saw the butt, consider re-filling the stand at least twice a day. Also on the market are many different additives that you may be tempted to add to the water to help with absorption. DeLong Farms suggests only using fresh cold water, as any chemicals may actually impede absorption or kill a Balsam fir outright. “Balsam fir is as natural a Christmas product as there can be,” Patricia smiles, “To add any chemicals to it would only shorten its keep and distort the Balsam fragrance Balsam fir crafts are famous for. Fresh water is the best way to go.”

Heat and Dry Air

As an evergreen perfectly adapted to life in a Nova Scotian winter forest, a Balsam fir is actually ill suited to survive inside a heated home with considerably dryer air. As large a role as moisture plays in the preservation of a Balsam fir Christmas tree or Christmas wreath, the heating of a home can actually play a significant role in how long a Balsam fir will keep. If it is a very dry central heating system of an electric heater or wood burning stove, the air will be considerably dryer than if a home is headed by hot water. If the Balsam fir is kept in the same room as a heat source, standing or placing it as far away as possible will help keep it from drying out and changing to a reddish brown color. (It is also important to note it is a fire hazard to have any Balsam fir material near an open flame, especially if it is drying out and no longer full of moisture and sap.)

Spritsing a Wreath

In much the same manner as you would water a plant daily with a spray bottle, “spritsing” a Balsam fir Christmas wreath or centerpiece is a great way to keep the Balsam fir from drying out. If you live in a home with particularly dry air, regular clouds of water will go a long way in keeping too much moisture from being lost. Because a wreath cannot be watered in the same way as a tree, keeping the brush of the Balsam fir moist is really the only way to keep it supple. While a properly selected Balsam fir Christmas wreath will easily last the Christmas season, a little careful maintenance can go a long way in keeping your Balsam fir centerpiece the subject of conversation and praise over the Christmas season.  

If you would like to keep your Balsam fir “on ice”, shall we say, until you expect company or a family gathering, the best way to keep a natural product such as Balsam fir, is to simply keep it outside in the winter air. By allowing the Balsam fir to stay in the dark, cool, wet environment that it thrives in, the Balsam will essentially sit happily until you bring it indoors. By protecting it from the heat and the dry air, setting it under the porch so it is out of the sun, the Balsam fir will have little problem staying lush and fragrant. “If you live in an area that has less than ideal weather conditions for setting a Balsam fir Christmas wreath outside,” Patricia almost chuckles, “Keeping it in the deep freeze would be your next best place.” By protecting the Balsam fir from the heat and dry air, an air tight freezer, believe it or not, actually provides an ideal chamber to retain the freshness of your Balsam fir Christmas wreath.

                After taking the time to carefully choose and care for your Balsam fir Christmas tree or wreath, you will find your home full of that characteristic Balsam fir aroma, and decorated as freshly as any Nova Scotian Christmas home.  DeLong Farms would like to extend their best “Holiday Wishes” to anyone who has chosen to ornament their home with traditional Balsam fir décor.  “It is a tradition that is as Nova Scotian as it is Victorian,” Patricia Delong smiles, “and its rewards are as timeless as any legend from Nova Scotia.”