How you can use hairspray and Red Bull to stop your Christmas tree from losing its needles
There are a few neat tricks to help keep your Christmas tree fresh and last longer
The simplest way to avoid Christmas tree needles dropping all over your living room floor is to buy one of the fir variety.
The Douglas and Fraser fir trees hold their needles well; as does the Nordmann fir, which is usually the best-selling of the bunch.
They last weeks, have a shapely, rigid foliage, and give out a majestically festive scent. They also cost upwards of £65 at just 5-6ft, so might not be within everyone's price range. You'll probably end up paying about £100 for one, to be honest.
Even the best Christmas trees lose a few needles here and there. But none compare to the traditional British option: the Norway spruce.It's an attractive and sweet-smelling conifer, but does have a particular tendency to drop its needles all over the place. Come Boxing Day, the fireplace resembles a scene from a Bear Grylls survival show.
There are ways, though, to reduce this. They sound odd, but according to a report in the Australian Journal of Botany , really do work. Puzzlingly, it was published in February 2016. They've suddenly become relevant. Here are a few tips from Down Under...
Hairspray: This is Christmas, babe
Hairspray (the musical)
Perhaps while watching the acclaimed 2007 musical? Apparently, dispatching some hairspray on the bristly pine needles helps keep them in place, as the substance blocks the stomata and thus reduces water loss.
But while this is thought to extend the life of your Christmas tree, some more environmentally minded people may feel a little reckless given all the fumes.
Red Bull gives you hymns
Yes, pour some energy drink (not the diet stuff) in your Christmas tree bucket. Research shows that cut plants last longer in sugary solution that water alone, as the sugar provides energy – just as it does with we humans.
Beer!
As if you need an excuse to have plenty of beer about during the festive period. If you can, spare a drop for your Christmas tree – it loves a drop. Mix a quantity of half-beer (ale, we're talking ale), half-water. Trees love the sugar it provides as well as all the minerals and nutrients.
Hot water
Lastly, the journal suggests freshly boiled water. The hope is that this helps dissolve the sticky sap at the end of the cut stem, and so increases the uptake of water, which it needs to stay fresh.
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