Festive Trees
15 December 2005

Fairies aren’t fussy, they will sit on top of anything but give some thought as to what type of Christmas tree suits your needs.

Artificial trees look the part although I’m not so sure of the current rage for black. Good, realistic looking specimens are expensive but it is a one-off cost against buying a tree every December and carting it home. They don’t drop their needles and require no additional support.
However live trees are authentic and often have the pleasing fragrance of resin.

Great care needs to be exercised when choosing a tree. Murphy’s Law states that the perfect specimen at point of sale will look one-sided and unbalanced when it is in the room. With a cut tree waiting until the week before Christmas before bringing it into a warm room will reduce the risk of the needles dropping prematurely. Standing the cut stump for a few hours in a bucket of water before bringing it indoors and then supporting it in a container of wet sand will help keep the foliage in good condition.

Small pot grown Christmas trees are fine but if you want a 5-6 ft tree with roots then it will be sold bare root. Select one with as many fine, fibrous roots as possible. Thick roots that have been chopped off close to the trunk are unlikely to survive to grow away for another year.
I am not in favour of buying trees for planting out in the garden. Most will die or struggle looking a mess by next December. Those that do survive are often left in the ground to grow and another one purchased. Within a few years you will have a conifer forest for a garden.

Select a tree with closely spaced branches. If they are too far apart the tree is difficult to decorate. Protect the tip of the tree while transporting it home otherwise the fairy will have to find another home.
There are many species and varieties of suitable tree on the market including those with bluish green leaves. The needles may be short or long, soft to the touch or sharply pointed.

Outside any tree in the garden can be used to support lights. For years I have decorated an upright Prunus Amanagawa,as well as a round headed, ornamental flowering cherry,(Prunus ‘Hillieri Spire’) and a beautiful white barked birch (Betula utilis jacquemontii). Remember a fairy isn’t just for one Christmas, it’s forever.

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