Frequently Asked Questions

No. Overloaded electrical outlets and faulty wires are the most common causes of holiday fires in residences. These are just as likely to affect artificial trees as real trees.

No. All the myths of tree preservative are false and/or not proven. Good rule of thumb is to treat your tree like you would treat your own body, fresh filtered water. Sugar will only attract ants.

The tree will need adequate water. Displaying trees in water in a traditional reservoir type stand is the most effective way of maintaining their freshness and minimizing needle loss problems. Once home, place the tree in water as soon as possible. Most species can go 6 to 8 hours after cutting the trunk and still take up water. Don’t bruise the cut surface or get it dirty.

The tree will need adequate water. Displaying trees in water in a traditional reservoir type stand is the most effective way of maintaining their freshness and minimizing needle loss problems. Once home, place the tree in water as soon as possible. Most species can go 6 to 8 hours after cutting the trunk and still take up water. Don’t bruise the cut surface or get it dirty.

If your tree is too big to fit in the stand, you will have to get another stand. To avoid this, inspect your stand before you leave the house to purchase your Christmas tree. Make note of how big a trunk your stand can handle. Or better yet, bring your stand to the lot.

Avoid whittling the sides of the trunk down to fit a stand. The outer layers of wood are the most efficient in taking up water and should not be removed. Once the bark has been removed and the cambium layer has been destroyed, the tree will not absorb moisture. The bark is the physiological component that will absorb moisture out of the bowl and keep the tree fresh.

Some types of Christmas trees, particularly Fraser firs, may develop a split in the trunk. If your tree happens to have a split or crack in it, don’t worry! Given a fresh cut off the base of the trunk and placed in water, trees with cracks will take up water normally for the entire holiday season.

Probably not. It is normal for a healthy Fraser fir to have dead needles near the trunk and in the bottom branches. As the tree grows, the interior needles receive less sunlight and start to die off. Bottom branches are trampled on, smashed against the slope of the mountain, or become entangled in a neighboring tree. During harvest and at our Christmas tree lots, we “limb up” the tree to remove unsightly branches and try to shake out dead needles. However, if the tree is wet — in the field or at the Christmas tree lot — it’s difficult to shake all the dead needles from the tree. Once home, give the tree a good shake or two before putting it in the stand to remove as many of these dead needles as possible. Again, if the outer and upper branches are green and pliable — your tree is happy and healthy!

Christmas trees in North Carolina are grown in a near-natural setting, so unfortunately, your real Christmas tree may have an unwanted hitchhiker. Don’t worry, these unwanted hitchhikers do not bite or cause disease. They are just a nuisance. They are most likely Cinara aphids, spider mites, or praying mantids. They are NOT likely to be ticks (in fact, we have never found a tick on a harvested tree). Most years, these pests are rare. Perhaps one tree in 100,000 has any one of these pests on it. Chances are you can get a real tree every year for the rest of your life and never be troubled with them again. Generally, post-harvest pests become more of a problem in years with a warm, dry fall.

When you bring the tree into your home, the insects that have spent the winter in the Christmas tree think spring has come and become active again, even reproducing in the home. A similar situation occurs in cold climates when houseplants are left outside on the patio in the summer, then brought back inside in the winter. These houseplants may harbor spiders, sow bugs, etc., or some other critter that has found a safe place to live. As stated above, in Christmas trees, pests such as Cinara aphids, spider mites, and praying mantid egg cases may be found. Again, these pests do not bite or cause disease. In many ways these hitchhikers are a symptom of a fresh tree recently harvested.

Hart-T-Tree Farms treats our trees for pests when we notice that there is a problem. However, sometimes, it’s like trying to find a needle in a haystack. When enough trees are infested with pests, they can be found through scouting and then treated. But sometimes only one tree in more than an acre of trees has one of these post-harvest pests on it. No one notices they are in the tree until they are brought into the home. We try to be good stewards of the land and water, so we strive to use pesticides only when they are needed to preserve tree quality and when they will effectively control the pest.

If you have found a post-harvest pest, here is a list of Dos and Don’ts from the North Carolina State University Cooperative Extension Service:

DO: Shake your tree before setting it up in the home. Christmas trees can have anything from pollen to dust to leaves and dead needles. Shaking the tree will remove a lot of debris. Consider washing the tree with water from a garden house and letting it dry before bringing your tree inside. If post-harvest pests are present, you’ll see them falling out.

DO: Vacuum pests up using an attachment without a beater bar.

DO: Treat with an insecticide if necessary. Consider using insecticidal soap to treat the tree for aphids which can be purchased from home improvement stores premixed. Spray aerosol home insecticides can also be used, but remember they are flammable. Set them set off near the infected tree, but unplug the lights first.

DO: Remove the tree from your house if the infestation is large.

DO: Return the tree for another one if treatments fail.

DON’T: Crush Cinara aphids or other pests on carpets or furnishings. They will leave a purple or red stain.

DON’T: Worry about the ornaments. The insects won’t stay on them until next year.