Expert reveals best and worst Christmas trees & vital job for this weekend to keep them alive until New Year

THERE’S nothing that shouts Christmas quite like a decorated tree.

Earlier this month even Princess Kate and Wills got into the spirit by choosing one for their home in Kensington Palace.

But all too often by the time the Big Day rolls around – if we don’t have ‘staff’ to look after it – our firs are looking rather pathetic and there’s inevitably incredibly annoying needles all over the house.

There’s an art in choosing and looking after our Christmas trees, and happily the RHS have issued a set of guidelines for Sun Gardening readers.

When it comes to which type of tree to choose, think about the characteristics you love the most, such as a strong smell, the colour or if fewer needles are dropped.

• The Norway spruce,  whilst beautiful, has a relatively short ‘room life’ and is prone to prematurely shedding its rather prickly needles. But it does have a great scent  and small green needles. 
• Nordmann fir is one of the most popular Christmas trees in the UK due to its ‘slow-to-drop’ soft green needles which have a pretty blue-white underside and with strong branches that can be lavishly decorated.
• Blue spruce has distinctively coloured blue needles and is more prickly than other trees. It can hold its needles better than the Norway spruce.
• Fraser fir is a slender option which takes up less space than other trees and has scented blue-green needles that are slow to drop. 
• Korean Fir is slow growing and relatively expensive with well retained glossy needles that are silvery beneath.
• Lodgepole pines are bushier than other Christmas trees with long deep green pine scented needles that sometimes bear cones

• Ideally choose a fresh, locally grown tree that looks healthy and green and is shedding only a very few needles.
• Chief Horticulturalist at the RHS, Guy Barter, say: “Don’t  bring a tree indoors too early. If bought early keep it outside in water until you are ready to  decorate it.”
• Prepare the tree by sawing the bottom 25mm off the trunk and support it in a stand that holds water. A tree should last four weeks if displayed in a relatively cool room, for at least some of the time, and if the water is kept topped up.
• Trees should be positioned away from heat sources. They don’t fare well near radiators or other sources of heat as this causes excessive moisture loss and needle drop.”

If you’re growing your Christmas Tree in a pot, Ornamental Trees expert Gemma Barton-Parker has the following tips for Sun Gardening readers.

If your tree has been outside – acclimatise it. Leave in sheltered area of your garden or porch for 24 hours before bringing it inside

Keep your tree in the pot it arrives, to keep its root system intact.

Avoid positioning next to direct heat, like a radiator, or open fire.

If the soil feels dry, water, but do not drench.

Use again next year! Plant into the ground or grow in a larger pot. To successfully transfer outside, acclimatise to the cold by moving it gradually outside. 

Make sure its roots are watered and damp. Dig a hole wider than your tree pot and loosen soil. 

When transferring, make sure the root is level with the top of the soil. Top up hole with soil, press down firmly. Water for the first year.