Real trees in large and early demand this year

We are one month from Christmas and Rick Van Duyvendyk with Dutch Growers in Saskatoon says his business has sold twice as many live Christmas trees as it did this time last year.

“I am a little concerned because Christmas trees usually last about four weeks,” he said. “So when people were putting up Christmas trees last week already, (the trees) might not make it to New Year’s.”

He figures Dutch Growers will be sold out of live trees by mid-December.

When picking a real Christmas tree, Van Duyvendyk says the heavier ones are best to get as they are holding more moisture.

It’s OK if brown needles fall off the tree, but if you shake it and a lot of green needles shed, that means the tree is starting to lose a lot of moisture out of its needles.

After purchasing a real tree, take a fresh cut off the bottom so it can get more water. Van Duyvendyk says he even drills a few holes into the bark for absorbing more water.

He also recommends purchasing a tree preserver, which is a powder to mix with water that will help the tree live longer.

And the most important thing when having a live tree is making sure it always has enough water. Van Duyvendyk says do not let its water supply dry out — not even once.

“Especially the first three or four days, it will suck up a lot of water,” he said. “You have to check that tree stand at least twice a day.”

Van Duyvendyk thinks with the added COVID-related limits on shopping in groups, some families might choose to cut down their own tree this year.

People harvesting their own trees are asked to make sure they’re not going onto private property and to check with Saskatchewan Environment about locations where they can cut down trees.