Christmas tree care: prolonging cut trees and potted conifer alternatives

Every year after the holidays, many say goodbye to their live Christmas tree that lasted only a few weeks. Elena Selenina, a biologist and director of the Botanical Garden of the Institute of Fundamental Biology and Biotechnology at Siberian Federal University (SFU), explains why cut trees lose needles quickly, what mistakes owners make, and how to extend the tree«s life at home. The article by NGS24.RU journalist Maria Zarukina also covers which potted conifers can become a long-term alternative to the traditional New Year tree and how to care for them.

Elena Selenina is a biologist with 42 years of experience. She started working at the Institute of Fundamental Biology and Biotechnology of Siberian Federal University (SFU) right after graduating from the same institute. Now she heads the botanical garden and can talk about plants for hours.

How to prolong the life of a Christmas tree at home

— Is there any point now in fussing over your live Christmas tree, which was brought in at the end of December and set up at home? Or should one have taken special care of it from the very beginning?

— Well, you«re definitely too late, because decay processes have long been underway in the water where the spruce was placed and where it stood for three weeks. That is, the measures that could have been recommended before New Year won»t work now. The only thing that might still work somehow — if the spruce hasn«t lost too many needles and they are not yet yellow — is spraying.

This should be done with a regular sprayer with warm water, preferably several times a day. I repeat, this is perhaps the only way now to extend the life of a cut spruce, but only for a short period of time.

— Is it true that spraying with sugar water helps?

— No, that«s useless now. That»s exactly what should have been done before New Year, when placing the spruce in water.

What to replace a cut Christmas tree with

— So, in January, we inevitably have to say goodbye to conifers in the house?

— You know, actually, there is now an alternative, albeit not as large as natural spruces, but wonderful plants. In stores, they have started buying not spruces but conifers in pots. You can find Christmas trees, cypresses, a whole variety of coniferous plants. They are sold in very small pots, and abroad they are considered disposable. But we have a different mentality, we Russians do. We, as a rule, buy a plant, whether coniferous or any other, and we, of course, are very interested in bringing it to growth, to flowering.

— Can such plants be used as an alternative to a live Christmas tree?

— Absolutely.

— How soon? How fast do they grow?

— You can decorate them even now, but for them to be a full meter tall — that will take about ten years. Yes, it«s a long time, but it»s your own, grown by yourself.

— Do these potted plants require a lot of fuss? How finicky are they?

— As for conifers, I would say that now it«s not worth spending effort on plants that are covered in tinsel, paint, glitter — they simply won»t survive. That is, they are truly disposable plants. Washing off all the decorations without damaging the needles is practically impossible, so such plants are thrown away immediately. Now it only makes sense to talk about potted conifers that are clean.

So, what needs to be done? The first two weeks they will stand in our rooms, and they must be repotted. It«s best to buy specialized soil for coniferous plants and plant them in a larger pot. The plant should be taken out of the small transport pot and transplanted from the transport substrate.

The pot should be twice as large as the one the plant was bought in. Conifers do not tolerate complete drying of the soil, so there should be a container under the pot, and you need to make sure the substrate is constantly slightly moist, but not swampy.

And, of course, the spraying that I recommended for cut spruces is also necessary here. It«s better to spray twice a day with warm water, if possible.

— Also just water, without sugar?

— Yes, without anything. Potted conifers are treated like ordinary houseplants. The question is different: if you bought a cypress, it«s a subtropical plant, it can grow indoors all year round. If you bought a real spruce, in spring it will need to be transplanted into the ground. That is, it will not winter and will not grow in indoor conditions.

What grows perfectly in an apartment is araucarias. They can also be bought. These are coniferous plants, very beautiful, with soft needles, which grow at home up to the ceiling and higher. Absolutely gorgeous coniferous plants.

What to do with a Christmas tree to make it last longer

— If someone is not ready to grow a tree for decades but wants to please themselves with a live Christmas tree every year, what is important to do with it to make it live as long as possible?

— You see, you won«t be able to preserve it for many months completely, but our task is to preserve the needles as long as possible. Based on this: when we bought and brought the tree, you need to add a tablespoon of glucose per liter of water to the container with water, as well as a teaspoon or even half a spoon of plain bleach. The bleach will disinfect the water so that decay bacteria don»t develop. They clog the vessels, and water stops penetrating the tree.

— Do you need to top up the water?

— Change it.

— Is it better to place a cut spruce in sand or in water?

— Either in damp sand or in water — it doesn«t matter. Moreover, when we buy live spruces before New Year, we need to examine them carefully: touch them, check if the needles are falling off. If the needles fall — it means the tree was cut long ago. The color of the needles should be deep green, without yellowness, redness, or other shades. This point is very important, as it directly affects how long we can admire the New Year tree.

— We recently had a video about a Krasnoyarsk woman who conducted an experiment to extend the life of a live Christmas tree at home. She adds an aspirin tablet, a spoon of sugar, a pinch of salt to the water, tops up the sand and also sprays from above. Can this work?

— I«m not sure about the salt, but either salt or bleach — both act as disinfectants. It»s better to use one thing. In general, she is doing it right, but this is more effective for cut flowers — roses, tulips, and the like. Spruce is a tree, and the processes are different.

— What function does aspirin serve in this recipe?

— Aspirin also disinfects the water so that a «swamp» doesn«t form. It helps avoid odors and prevents the spruce»s vessels from getting clogged with bacteria and stopping functioning.