Our Christmas Tree water has frozen! (trees, freeze, indoors, porch)
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Hello, I'd appreciate any insight about this...
We brought home a fresh-cut Christmas tree the other day and put it in water out on the porch; we will bring it into the house on Christmas Eve. We've been watering it regularly, but it got very cold last night, and today the water is frozen solid around the base of the tree. What is the best way to take care of this without harming the tree?
Thanks so much for your suggestions. Those will help once I've taken care of the immediate problem, which is the 3" thick / 10" diameter solid block of ice that is currently on the base of the tree. I tried chipping at it with a hammer and it's just solid... would it be ok to pour hot water on - maybe a little at a time - until I can get it loose, or...? Thanks again!
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Hot water from the tap won't hurt it, don't use boiling. I would suggest cutting another inch or so off now, the cells that absorb water in the base of the trunk may be destroyed, unless you only plan to keep it indoors for a week or less. When it's that cold I would keep it in the unheated garage where the water should not freeze. Ours has been inside and set up for two weeks, and still drinks almost a quart a day of water, with no needle drop. I brought it in the day we bought it and had them cut off an inch.
This used to happen to our trees all the time when I was a kid. Dad would put the tree outside in a water-filled bucket and it would freeze solid. He would bring the tree into the basement about 24 hours before we were going to decorate it (always on Christmas Eve, BTW) and the ice would have melted back to water. The trees never seemed worse for the wear. We of course kept it in water when it was in the house and decorated.
Hello, I'd appreciate any insight about this...
We brought home a fresh-cut Christmas tree the other day and put it in water out on the porch; we will bring it into the house on Christmas Eve. We've been watering it regularly, but it got very cold last night, and today the water is frozen solid around the base of the tree. What is the best way to take care of this without harming the tree?
I had this happen one year when we put the tree in a big tub filled with water. I used a sledge hammer to bust the ice.
Hello, I'd appreciate any insight about this...
We brought home a fresh-cut Christmas tree the other day and put it in water out on the porch; we will bring it into the house on Christmas Eve.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LoriNJ
Dad would put the tree outside in a water-filled bucket and it would freeze solid. He would bring the tree into the basement about 24 hours before we were going to decorate it (always on Christmas Eve, BTW)
There always has to be "one of those" so I'll be it.
What is the purpose of buying a Fresh Cut tree and keeping it outside? Is the scent too strong? Why not bring inside, decorate, put gifts under there, and enjoy the holiday "season" with a nice fresh cut tree all decorated and lit up? Why wait till day of??
Because that was the tradition in our house. We had a meatless dinner Christmas Eve (Catholics) and then we decorated the tree as a family. Dad bought a tree earlier than that because if he waited until we were going to decorate it, there would not be a nice selection. My husband grew up in the same town as I did and his family also decorated on Christmas Eve, as did many of my friends' families. I have to say that decorating the tree Christmas Eve and then waking up on Christmas morning with presents under the tree made it all seem quite magical.
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