Hi, I just picked up a Christmas tree from Home depot--a Balsam Fir to be
exact. I was just wondering how to tell if the tree is fresh? We did notice
a decent amount of needles that fell to the floor of the truck on the way
home, but I'm not sure if this is normal or not? Can someone tell me what to
look for, so that I'll know whether or not to return the tree? Thanks.

Some needles will naturally fall out, at the first real good shake. After
it is shaken real heavily to clear out the needles, it should not shed a lot
a day later.

Bend a small branch or stem, out near the end of the branch. It should snap
back pretty quickly instead of staying "with the bend."

Cut about an inch off the bottom of the stump (for a fresh cut) , and place
the tree in water. It is amazing how much water they will suck up. Some
folks put sugar in the water, but I never have felt the need for that. Watch
the water level daily.

Hope this helps !!


--James--

"TheKeith" wrote:

Hi, I just picked up a Christmas tree from Home depot--a Balsam Fir to
be exact. I was just wondering how to tell if the tree is fresh?

Keep it long past Christmas, and you'll see first-hand what "not fresh"
looks like for next year. Plus, as an added bonus, you will get to see how
long it takes.

Ask the guys at Home Depot for tips on keeping it fresh.

--
Farlo, the Urban Fey Dragon

Hey thanks guys for your help. I guess it is fresh then--the branches do
snap back pretty well and it doesn't seem to be dropping as amny needles as
it did when it first got in the truck.



"TheKeith" wrote in message
...
Hi, I just picked up a Christmas tree from Home depot--a Balsam Fir to be
exact. I was just wondering how to tell if the tree is fresh? We did
notice
a decent amount of needles that fell to the floor of the truck on the way
home, but I'm not sure if this is normal or not? Can someone tell me what
to
look for, so that I'll know whether or not to return the tree? Thanks.

It is amazing how much water they will suck up.
Agreed.

Check that dish many times each day and keep it full of fresh water.

When the concern of "fire hazard" starts to bother me, I take a few needles
off the tree, place them in a metal container OUTSIDE, and light them. This
gives me an idea of just how flammable my tree is.


(¯`·._.· £ãrrÿ ·._.·´¯)







"James Nipper" wrote in message
...
Some needles will naturally fall out, at the first real good shake. After
it is shaken real heavily to clear out the needles, it should not shed a
lot
a day later.

Bend a small branch or stem, out near the end of the branch. It should
snap
back pretty quickly instead of staying "with the bend."

Cut about an inch off the bottom of the stump (for a fresh cut) , and
place
the tree in water. It is amazing how much water they will suck up. Some
folks put sugar in the water, but I never have felt the need for that.
Watch
the water level daily.

Hope this helps !!


--James--

The Christmas tree you'll soon be buying is at the end of its long
journey. Having grown up in Oregon, it is harvested and placed on a
flat bed truck for its cross country journey. Once every few stops, the
trees are watered down to keep them moist and fresh.
=

Just make sure that the beautiful Tannenbaum you invite into your living
room doesn't make your allergies worse! Although an artificial tree is
best (if you rinse off the attic dust!), here's some tips if you decide
to go with a real tree:
=

That continual watering promotes mold growth. Make sure to spray your
tree with a garden hose before bringing it inside. This also helps
rinse the pollen off the tree. Although pine trees aren't a major
source of tree pollen, they can trigger hay fever if you get a big dose
of the powder right in your face. Rinsing the tree off, plus using your
allergy medicines before you enjoy trimming the tree, may prevent your
Christmas-time allergy. Speaking of trimming the tree, your ornaments
may have spent the off-season in the attic with dust mites and mold. =

Carefully clean them off in a well-ventilated area. After Christmas,
pack the ornaments carefully in sealed plastic bags to make next year's
job a bit easier.
=

Keep the living room well-ventilated. The aromatic resins that impart
the pine scent can act as non-allergic irritants. Our Texas Aggie
buddies suggest the Leyland Cypress tree since, as a true hybrid, it
cannot produce pollen. Fewer resins on the Leyland Cypress mean fewer
odors. http://agnet.tamu.edu/stories/leyland.html
=

Along with cheerful holiday gatherings come colds and flu. How does
your doctor keep from getting all those bugs? We wash our hands with
hot soapy water about 753 times a day. Careful hand washing can prevent
transmission of respiratory viruses.
=

Stay well and Happy Holidays from The Allergy Clinic, your allergy and
asthma specialists!

Republished by Celestial Habitats
J. Kolenovsky



TheKeith wrote:
=

Hi, I just picked up a Christmas tree from Home depot--a Balsam Fir to =
be
exact. I was just wondering how to tell if the tree is fresh? We did no=
tice
a decent amount of needles that fell to the floor of the truck on the w=
ay
home, but I'm not sure if this is normal or not? Can someone tell me wh=
at to
look for, so that I'll know whether or not to return the tree? Thanks.

-- =

Celestial Habitats by J. Kolenovsky
2003 Honorable Mention Award, Keep Houston Beautiful
=F4=BF=F4 - http://www.celestialhabitats.com - business
=F4=BF=F4 - http://www.hal-pc.org/~garden/personal.html - personal

"J Kolenovsky" wrote in message
...
The Christmas tree you'll soon be buying is at the end of its long
journey. Having grown up in Oregon, it is harvested and placed on a
flat bed truck for its cross country journey. Once every few stops, the
trees are watered down to keep them moist and fresh.

Just make sure that the beautiful Tannenbaum you invite into your living
room doesn't make your allergies worse! Although an artificial tree is
best (if you rinse off the attic dust!), here's some tips if you decide
to go with a real tree:

That continual watering promotes mold growth. Make sure to spray your
tree with a garden hose before bringing it inside. This also helps
rinse the pollen off the tree. Although pine trees aren't a major
source of tree pollen, they can trigger hay fever if you get a big dose
of the powder right in your face. Rinsing the tree off, plus using your
allergy medicines before you enjoy trimming the tree, may prevent your
Christmas-time allergy. Speaking of trimming the tree, your ornaments
may have spent the off-season in the attic with dust mites and mold.
Carefully clean them off in a well-ventilated area. After Christmas,
pack the ornaments carefully in sealed plastic bags to make next year's
job a bit easier.

Keep the living room well-ventilated. The aromatic resins that impart
the pine scent can act as non-allergic irritants. Our Texas Aggie
buddies suggest the Leyland Cypress tree since, as a true hybrid, it
cannot produce pollen. Fewer resins on the Leyland Cypress mean fewer
odors. http://agnet.tamu.edu/stories/leyland.html

Along with cheerful holiday gatherings come colds and flu. How does
your doctor keep from getting all those bugs? We wash our hands with
hot soapy water about 753 times a day. Careful hand washing can prevent
transmission of respiratory viruses.

Stay well and Happy Holidays from The Allergy Clinic, your allergy and
asthma specialists!

Republished by Celestial Habitats
J. Kolenovsky


maybe I should consider converting to judaism!

May the Lorax bitch slap some sense into you.

You are the bad one.


TheKeith wrote in message
...
Hi, I just picked up a Christmas tree from Home depot--a Balsam Fir to be
exact. I was just wondering how to tell if the tree is fresh? We did
notice
a decent amount of needles that fell to the floor of the truck on the way
home, but I'm not sure if this is normal or not? Can someone tell me what
to
look for, so that I'll know whether or not to return the tree? Thanks.

it doesnt help. we got the tree along with everything else....
everyone been bitching about the tree not being aromatic and ours was sooo over the
top with smell the first day I didnt know if I was going to be able to stand it.

forget the sugar water. it just breeds bacteria. sucrose is not glucose, which the
tree needs anyway. fresh water is good. Ingrid


maybe I should consider converting to judaism!




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
http://puregold.aquaria.net/
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
endorsements or recommendations I make.

On Thu, 04 Dec 2003 11:42:40 GMT, "Cereoid-UR12-"
wrote:

TheKeith wrote

Hi, I just picked up a Christmas tree from Home depot--a Balsam Fir to be
exact. I was just wondering how to tell if the tree is fresh? We did
notice
a decent amount of needles that fell to the floor of the truck on the way
home, but I'm not sure if this is normal or not? Can someone tell me what
to
look for, so that I'll know whether or not to return the tree? Thanks.

May the Lorax bitch slap some sense into you.

You are the bad one.

Why? Commercial Christmas trees aren't part of an old-growth forest;
they're a crop. Might as well scold someone for buying roses or corn.
What is your objection?

"Cereoid-UR12-" wrote in message
. com...
May the Lorax bitch slap some sense into you.

You are the bad one.


Why should that person be bitch slapped by the Lorax? The post stated the
tree was a balsam fir, a variety that is normally grown on Christmas tree
farms, not a Truffula Tree BTW, the Once-ler we should be concerned about
just signed the Healthy Forests Act (name makes you hurl) that gives the
lumber industry the right to rape national forests under the pretense of
protecting people from wild fires. The lumber industry got their political
contributions back in spades. Just watch the group vote for him in droves,
which could make him a Twice-ler.

John

and after they chop the tree they will leave all the refuse, the branches etc behind
as dead brush to fuel another fire. Ingrid

"B & J" bjskeff@removecox-internetcom wrote:
Why should that person be bitch slapped by the Lorax? The post stated the
tree was a balsam fir, a variety that is normally grown on Christmas tree
farms, not a Truffula Tree BTW, the Once-ler we should be concerned about
just signed the Healthy Forests Act (name makes you hurl) that gives the
lumber industry the right to rape national forests under the pretense of
protecting people from wild fires. The lumber industry got their political
contributions back in spades. Just watch the group vote for him in droves,
which could make him a Twice-ler.

John




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
http://puregold.aquaria.net/
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
endorsements or recommendations I make.

In article , "TheKeith"
writes:

This also helps
rinse the pollen off the tree. Although pine trees aren't a major
source of tree pollen, they can trigger hay fever if you get a big dose
of the powder right in your face.

Hi j
Nice article, but nitpicker that I am, I will make this comment:
pines do indeed produce abundant pollen, and it is wind borne,
covering lakes, creeks, the ground, your car, picnic tables,
with a fine yeloow-green powder, but not at this time of year.
Pollen is produced in the Spring/early Summer, so I doubt much
would still be on the needles, certainly not going to "get a big
dose of the powder in the face."

Emilie

On Fri, 05 Dec 2003 14:56:56 GMT, wrote:

"B & J" bjskeff@removecox-internetcom wrote:
Why should that person be bitch slapped by the Lorax? The post stated the
tree was a balsam fir, a variety that is normally grown on Christmas tree
farms, not a Truffula Tree

and after they chop the tree they will leave all the refuse, the branches etc behind
as dead brush to fuel another fire.

Are you sure? Since the trees are a crop for growers, one assumes they
would have an interest in keeping their fields free from debris. And
don't most Christmas tree lots also sell branches and trimmings for
decoration?

"B & J" bjskeff@removecox-internetcom wrote:
Why should that person be bitch slapped by the Lorax? The post stated
the
tree was a balsam fir, a variety that is normally grown on Christmas
tree
farms, not a Truffula Tree

and after they chop the tree they will leave all the refuse, the branches
etc behind
as dead brush to fuel another fire.

Oh my god! Dead branches? Outside? The *******s!!!!