• Skip to main content
  • Skip to after header navigation
  • Skip to site footer

Travels With The Post

  • Calendar
  • Dining
    • Beverages
    • Pottstown Foodie
    • Restaurants
  • Entertainment
    • Local Events
    • Live Theater
    • Live Music
    • Live Outdoors
    • Museums and Libraries
    • Sports
  • Travel
    • Post Road Trips
    • Riding The Rails
  • Local Traffic
    • Traffic Alerts
    • Public Transport
  • Local News
    • Government
    • Health
    • Schools
  • Local Business
  • Weather
  • About

Christmas Tree Season, Already? 5 Tips for the Best One

November 21, 2023

HARRISBURG PA – The hunt for the best Christmas tree for your home, according to a university plant breeding expert, is starting earlier than usual in 2023.

“The tradition used to be getting a tree a week or so before Christmas,” Cornell University Senior Extension Associate Elizabeth Lamb observed Tuesday (Nov. 21, 2023). Just like holiday retailing, though, the tree-buying timeline is on a faster track. “Thanksgiving weekend now starts Christmas tree buying season off with a bang,” she added. Some choose-and-cut operations began even sooner.

So while Thanksgiving dinner plans are still gearing up, Lamb suggests many people are already preparing for the next holiday season. That includes planning where and when to find their Christmas tree, she said.

To that end, Pennsylvania’s Department of Agriculture offers these Christmas tree buying tips.

Measure twice

Before bundling up to leave for a tree farm or lot, the department warns, measure your space. Measuring the height and width of the area where you plan to deck out your tree, and remember to count space for your tree stand and tree topper. Also measure the width of your tree stand, id suggested, to ensure your tree’s trunk isn’t too wide.

Buy local

If you prefer to shop from a lot and not cut your own, the department said, find one that sources its trees from a local farm to ensure they’re fresh and healthy. “When not from a local farm, trees on a lot are already three to four weeks old when you take them home,” it noted. If possible, cut your own tree. That guarantees it’s fresh, and likely to hold its needles longer.

Check the color

“Look for a tree with a consistent green color throughout. Yellow or brown needles are indicators of health issues, and also shed faster than healthy green needles. No tree is perfect,” the department admits, but adds if it’s more than 5-percent discolored, “move on to another tree.”

Feel the branches

The department recommends testing “an outer branch by bending it. A fresh tree should give without breaking,” it said. “Check the needles for freshness by grasping a branch and moving your hand out to the end. Fresh needles will bounce back and not snap off.” And shake things up … literally. When shaken “an unhealthy tree will drop a large pile of needles.” A healthy one will only lose a few.

Get a fresh cut

“If you’re on a lot,” ask the seller to give your choice a fresh cut. “This will remove the hardened sap and allow it to draw in more water,” according to the department. When the tree is home and set up, “check the water level often during the first few days.” That’s when the department said the tree will take in the most. Then check the level daily, ensuring water is above the cut.

Photo by Artur Verkhovetskiy on Deposit Photos, used by Travels With The Post under license

Berks County Chester County Entertainment Holidays Montgomery County Pennsylvania Science
Previous Post:Iron Hill Brewery Marketing Its Holiday Season Beers
Next Post:Outlets Center Schedules Dec. 9 Holiday-Themed EventOutlets Center Schedules Dec. 9 Holiday-Themed Event

Sidebar

Subscribe. It’s Free.

* indicates required

News In Your County

Montgomery County PA

Berks County PA

Chester County PA

Local and Regional News

Looking for free local news? See these sources:

The PCTV Network. PCTV, headquartered in Pottstown, provides local television programming in western Montgomery, northern Chester, and eastern Berks counties.

Digital Notebook. Pottstown resident Evan Brandt is the sole reporter for the venerable Pottstown Mercury newspaper. For many years, until February 2022, he offered observations about happenings in the borough and elsewhere. They remain valuable from a historical perspective.

The Boyertown Expression. Covers municipalities primarily within Berks County’s Boyertown Area School District, and focuses on the municipalities of Boyertown, Bally, Barto, and Gilbertsville. Its operators, Leslie Misko and Jane Stahl, are long-time Boyertown area residents with backgrounds in education and art.

Perk Valley Now. Covers municipalities primarily within Montgomery County's Perkiomen Valley School District: Zionsville, Schwenksville, Perkiomen, Perkiomenville, Trappe, Collegeville, and Skippack PA.

North Penn Now. Covers municipalities primarily within Montgomery County's North Penn School District: Hatfield township and borough, Lansdale, North Wales, Montgomery, Towamencin and Upper Gwynedd.

Keystone Wayfarer. Described by author Paula Hogan "as an outlet to publish accounts” that explore “the extensive history” of people and places in and around Schwenksville PA and, more broadly, Montgomery County PA.

Daily Voice Pottstown. Covers municipalities in western Montgomery County and beyond.

MyChesCo. MyChesCo has covered Chester County news since 2017.

Berks Community Television. Covers Berks County.

Spotlight PA. An investigative news service for Pennsylvania, supported by several news organizations statewide. It is starting a Berks County Edition.

Philly Voice. Covers Philadelphia and the suburbs.

Lehigh Valley News. Lehigh Valley News, headquartered in Bethlehem PA, provides news coverage in Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton, and counties of the Lehigh Valley.

Travels With The Post does not endorse, and is not affiliated with, any of these websites.

Copyright © 2025 · Travels With The Post · All Rights Reserved · Powered by Mai Theme