last seen 3 days 3 hours agoI love a real Christmas Tree! We normally get ours right after Thanks Giving, just to discover it almost dead a week before Christmas.
I've done the aspirin in the water. Still didn't last.
I've tried sugar in the water,.... still no good results.
Even with always making sure it had plenty of water at all times, it still became brittle and needles fell not long after being brought home.
Was there a solution?
We were at a new Christmas Tree Farm last week just to look. Sad to say we are not getting a tree this year until a week before Christmas, due to a trip to California.
So I decided to ask them their thoughts on the subject.
They said that the problem is the sap. It acts as a scab on the end of the tree which keeps the water out eventually. And the same with sugar.
The solution?
HOT WATER. Keep your tree filled with hot water, (not boiling!) and it will keep the sap gooey so it won't form a hard scab and clog it!
You will have to keep up on it though,... when the water gets cold, the sap will start to harden.
I'm anxious to try it and see how long it lasts. If you try it, let me know how things go! 
Ohhh yes. We always buy a tree that we cut ourselves, but they still seem to die quickly. (Sorry, should have put that part in there.)
That's why I thought it was interesting to find out about the hot water. It makes sense, the tree is trying to repair itself by oozing sap in the hurt area (in this case, the freshly cut end!) which clogs it. Then the tree can't get water.
Hot water should loosen it up, and help keep the fresh cut tree watered longer.
Thanks for the advice!
When you bring your tree home, you need to cut a "fresh" cut at the stem. It's hard telling how long the tree has been cut down and by cutting it you are opening it back up. The old cut has stared to clog by healing over or drying up if you will.
Never let the tree run out of water. Once it does, it will be much harder for the tree to start absorbing water again. Which means, as troublesome as it may be, it is necessary to do another "fresh" cut.
Think of it this way, you bought the tree from a lot more than likely. The tree was laying there with all the other trees. Not a lick of water in sight. That's why it's important to re-cut it. Trees are like flowers in a vase, they need constant water. And the first time you water it, it will probably drink a whole lot, so keep checking it.
That's all I know about that.
Lynn
If I was standing on a fish, I'd slip and fall......