The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
For many people, traditions include a Christmas tree, either natural or artificial. Those who love the look and scent of a "real" tree can keep their evergreen beautiful, fragrant and safe throughout the holiday season just by following a few simple steps for their tree's care. When you bring your tree home, keep it in a cold, sheltered place until you're ready to set it up. Just before you set up the tree, make a fresh cut on the bottom of the trunk, to make sure that the tree will draw water. In an old cut, the water conducting vessels in the trunk will quickly seal over and, unable to 'drink,' the tree will quickly dry out. Make sure the trunk is cut square; this makes it much more stable in the stand. Keeping your tree well watered is key, both for appearance and for fire safety. When watering your tree for the first time, use warm water; this helps get the water flowing. For the first day or two after you set it up, your tree will take up a lot of water. Make sure that the water reservoir never gets below the level of the cut by adding water frequently. Using lights with smaller bulbs helps slow down the drying process and has other benefits. They not only produce less heat, they use less electricity.
