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| - Industry experts and academics in the field of Christmas tree handling differ in opinions about whether the temperature of water used to water a Christmas tree makes a difference to its longevity. However, it is generally agreed that continued access to water of any temperature is important for the health of a harvested tree.
Will a Christmas tree keep its needles for longer if you hydrate it with hot water? This persistent claim, often framed as a life hack, has been around on the internet since at least 2007, and shows no sign of disappearing.
In December 2024 the claim surfaced again across Facebook (archive) and Threads (archive), among others.
(Facebook user KindredJoy)
The post read:
"FOR all those families with real Christmas trees.....I learned something interesting from the farmer and his wife.
- Before watering your tree......boil the water first, let stand for 5 minutes and then water tree! This with keep the sap from getting hard and allow for the water to go up the bark! Cold water clogs the openings with the sap and your tree will die much quicker!
- Christmas tree lesson #101. Enjoy your tree well into the new year!!" 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄
Thanks to Daria
Credit goes to the first owner ✍️
However, we have not been able to prove whether this life hack actually works or makes a difference to the appearance of a harvested Christmas tree. In our research, Snopes found credible sources speaking both for and against the use of hot water. We are therefore rating this claim unproven.
Some Experts Recommend Hot Water 'Life Hack'
We found several credible sources in our research that said you should pour hot (not boiling) water in the base of your Christmas tree, including the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, the North Carolina Christmas Tree Association (archive), and the Great Swamp Greenhouses garden center (archive).
The "pro" sources argued that hot water helped increase water uptake by melting built-up sap on the trunk, which in turn helped keep the tree looking nicer for longer.
Fresh Cut on Base of Tree More Important
However, we also found credible sources saying that the temperature of the water used to hydrate a Chrismas tree didn't affect water uptake.
In 2012, Rick Bates, professor of horticulture at Penn State University, spoke to NPR about the best tips and tricks for Christmas trees, telling the "Talk of the Nation" program that:
Cold water is fine. What does matter is the fresh cut on the base of the tree. If it's been, you know, a day or so since that tree has been harvested, putting the fresh cut opens up those pores that are going to draw in the water. And if the water is cold or hot, it doesn't matter so much as having a fresh cut and no sap covering that base of the trunk.
Scholars Gary Chastagner and Eric Hinesley supported this statement, writing for the National Christmas Tree Association: "The temperature of the water used to fill the stand is not important and does not affect water uptake."
Chastagner and Hinesley are both respected academics in the field of Christmas tree research.
Asked via email in December 2024 whether he was still of the opinion that water temperature made no difference to the health of a tree, Hinesley confirmed this, adding: "Gary Chastagner and I never found anything to be better than plain water alone. And there is no need to boil it before use."
Hinesley further supported Bates' claim that making a fresh cut off the trunk of the Christmas tree, usually about 1/2 to 1 inch thick, would help water uptake.
In any case, Hinesley said, the most important factor to keeping a harvested Christmas tree looking nice and lasting longer was providing it with ample water, a claim also repeated in previous research:
When supplied with water, cut Christmas trees generally consume about 1 qt (about 1 L) of water per day per inch (2.54 cm) of stem diameter. Thus, a tree with a 4-in diameter trunk would use about 4 qt (about 4 L) of water per day. The biggest mistake by consumers is using a stand with too little capacity, resulting in trees drying up between waterings. If this happens, the tree might not rehydrate when rewatered. (Hinesley, L. E. and G. A. Chastagner, 2016)
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