To Keep Needles on Christmas Trees Use an Anti-Desiccant Spray

While artificial Christmas trees are true time and hassle savers, nothing can quite compete with the smell and texture of a real, live xmas tree for traditional holiday ambience. However, there are several practical problems one encounters when using a live xmas tree. Perhaps the most challenging issue is keeping the needles on the tree.

A tree with half of its needles on the floor is neither lifelike nor ascetically pleasing. Fortunately, there is a class of treatments called anti-desiccants. You can use an anti-desiccant spray to keep needles on Christmas trees for several weeks. Needles tend to fall off because they lose moisture through the surface. Anti-desiccants prevent this moisture loss. You simply mix the chemicals and then spray to keep needles on Christmas trees much longer than they would without treatment.

Needles lose their moisture through a process called transpiration. In a living, in-the-ground tree, the tree replaces this moisture by drawing water from the soil via its extensive root network. Cut trees do not have a root network and can only draw water through the main trunk. This means that moisture lost in the needles is not easily replaced. You can use an anti-desiccant spray to keep needles on Christmas trees, as the spray forms a barrier around the needle and slows the transpiration process.

There are several anti-desiccant sprays available, including the well-known Wilt Pruf. You can find many of these sprays in home improvement stores, as well as online. They are quite good at keeping xmas trees fresh and helping them survive the long holiday season.