The first tree I bought as an adult was dead by December 10th. Needles everywhere, lights dim, the works. I had watered it, sort of. What I had not done was give it a fresh cut, and without that cut, the tree could not drink. My mom, who keeps a tree alive until January 6th every year, finally explained what I was missing.

Give it a fresh cut the day you bring it home

When a tree is cut at the farm, the bottom seals over with sap within a few hours. That seal stops water from traveling up the trunk. Saw off half an inch to an inch from the bottom, straight across, and put the tree in water within an hour. A fresh cut opens the pores and the tree starts drinking again.

Water every single day

This is the boring part, and it is the part that matters. A cut tree can drink a gallon of water in the first 24 hours, then a quart or more every day after. Check the stand twice a day at first. The moment the water level drops below the cut, the seal reforms and the tree stops drinking. Once that happens, you have to recut the trunk to save it.

Keep it away from heat

Do not put the tree near a radiator, fireplace, or heating vent. Heat dries the needles from the outside while you are busy watering the trunk. I moved mine away from the register one year and the difference was obvious by Christmas. Cool room, fresh tree.

What goes in the water

Nothing. I tried the old wives’ tale of aspirin and sugar in the water one year. It made no difference. Plain tap water, changed regularly so it does not go slimy, is all a tree needs. Add a few drops of bleach to a full stand if the water starts to smell, but fresh water is the real answer.

Last December my tree still smelled like pine on New Year’s Day. The needles held until I took it down, and I did not have to vacuum pine needles off the floor every morning. The whole secret was a saw cut and daily water.