Looking for a perfect Christmas tree? What to know
Elwood Christmas Tree Farm started selling trees the day after Thanksgiving and since then, owner Lee Itzler says he’s been busy. FOX 5 NY’s Jodi Goldberg has the story.
LONG ISLAND – Elwood Christmas Tree Farm started selling trees the day after Thanksgiving and since then, owner Lee Itzler says he’s been busy.
His 22-acre farm draws people from Manhattan to Montauk and, unlike other tree farms that may have suffered from the late summer drought, Itzler says putting seedlings in pots several years before lining them in the field gives his trees stronger roots.
As for how long they’ll last? Itzler says if you’re cutting it fresh from the field, you shouldn’t have to worry about making it to Christmas or even after.
“Christmas trees won’t show death until perhaps a month later,” he said.
To check freshness, you can pull on a branch to see if any needles come off. You can also scratch the bark and see if it’s still green.
“All trees naturally drop up to one-third of their needles, and they always come from the inside, so if you have needles dropping on the outside, you have a problem,” Itzlet said.
But to avoid a problem, Itzler says make sure there’s plenty of water. As for urban myths, Itzler says it’s not necessary to add sugar.
“The leaves already transmit sugar down and all the way to the roots and all they want is water and possibly nutrients,” he said. “You want to keep a tree away from the heat source if you have radiators or anything that blows air. You wanna keep the room as cool as possible and, for sure, turn your lights off before you go to bed.”
Christmas tree secrets even Santa doesn’t tell.
