Looking For Long-Lasting Xmas Tree

Nick Peterson, of Holiday Christmas Trees at Francis Avenue and Calispel Street in Spokane, carries a noble fir tree for newlyweds Katie and Sam Garringer, of Spokane, after the couple chose their first tree together for their new home. (SR photo: Dan Pelle)

In the early 1980s, Gary Chastagner took a road trip to Southern California, stopping at Christmas tree lots along the way. At each lot, he asked permission to collect twigs from the trees for sale. In a lab set up in the back of his Ford station wagon, the Washington State University researcher tested the branches for moisture content. The desert was sucking moisture out of the Northwest-grown trees, he found. The parched evergreens in the Southern California tree lots still looked lush, but they’d soon be shedding needles on an unlucky buyer’s carpet. Chastagner, sometimes called “Mr. Christmas tree” by his colleagues, has spent three decades looking for ways to preserve the shelf life of cut trees. It’s a multimillion-dollar issue for Northwest growers/ Becky Kramer , SR. More here .

Question: How long before Christmas do you put up your tree? Does it stay in good shape through the holidays?