Every year millions and millions of live trees are sold. How many result in a house fire?

It does happen, but in the same way anything else can happen too.

It's about being sensible. My parents did have real candles on their tree when I was growing up although it was only lit on Christmas Eve and during a holiday party, but I made them stop doing that.

I usually buy the tree the second week of December and keep it up through January 6. It does dry out towards the end but it's never been a problem. My go-to lot has a reputation for sourcing good quality trees and they've proven themselves across the years. Places like Lowes and WF are hit or misses.

previous poster.
"Jun 1" was meant to be "Jan 1".

it depends a lot on when the tree was cut and you never know when this was.

We've purchased from Whole Foods the last 3 years. 2021 and 2022 were super fresh trees that didn't really drop a needle until Jun 1. Last year's was a complete dud--never drank water at all and started dropping needles the day we brought it in (it looked fresh outside but as soon as it adjusted to the room temperature the needles started to fall). I actually called for a refund a few days later and the customer service desk at WF said that they were gettin numerous complaints and refunding people. I then re-purchased from a DC tree lot and it was a bit better but still a pretty old tree.

We get a tree the weekend after Thanksgiving from a cut-it-yourself farm and then it stays through Xmas/NY.

1 get a fresh tree
2- leave enough stump when you cut so that when you get it home you can cut 1/4 an inch off the stump
3- immediately put it in the stand with warm water and tree food
4- check it every morning and every night, fill with lukewarm water
5- turn lights off at night or anytime you arent home

The reason you need to recut the stump is because the tree sap creates a barrier. Warm water and tree food help keep the stump open and give it nutrients.

You must check every morning and night and make sure you get a big enough tree stand that you can put a significant amount of water otherwise you run the risk of having to check more often or it going dry.

If you cant commit to all that then get a fake tree.

Are you seriously equating a Christmas tree with a dog, PP? SMH.

We do this every year. Give it a lot of water. Turn your lights off at night and when you leave the house (we plug ours into a timer). No problem.

Don’t leave lights on overnight. Not even on a fake tree.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We buy precut trees at Lowe’s or Whole Foods. Some years we’ve gotten trees that stayed nice for weeks. Some years we’ve gotten trees that looked fine at the tree lot, but never drank a bit of water (even though they do cut off the base of the trunk at the time of purchase), and they dried out immediately. Most years, the tree is getting dry by Christmas but still looks okay. If you’re making sure the tree stays watered, using strings of lights that aren’t old, and making sure the lights are unplugged when no one is around the tree, the fire risk isn’t that high. When the lights aren’t even plugged in, the tree is not going to spontaneously burst into flames.

Thanks PP! Op back. Ah! Ok, my coworker described it as a giant match but this is good to know about the lights. When I have had fake trees I have kept the lights on overnight. I never would have thought about this! Thank you!


Thank you other pps too! We live in an apartment without a balcony and a unit across the building suffered a catastrophic fire one year when their tree caught fire from fireplace. I am not sure of specifics . But I’m learning a lot reading up on real tree maintenance.

A real tree is a huge fire hazard and a TON of work. I would stick with artificial. It’s like getting a dog - most people have no clue what they are signing up for.

Anonymous wrote:We buy precut trees at Lowe’s or Whole Foods. Some years we’ve gotten trees that stayed nice for weeks. Some years we’ve gotten trees that looked fine at the tree lot, but never drank a bit of water (even though they do cut off the base of the trunk at the time of purchase), and they dried out immediately. Most years, the tree is getting dry by Christmas but still looks okay. If you’re making sure the tree stays watered, using strings of lights that aren’t old, and making sure the lights are unplugged when no one is around the tree, the fire risk isn’t that high. When the lights aren’t even plugged in, the tree is not going to spontaneously burst into flames.

Thanks PP! Op back. Ah! Ok, my coworker described it as a giant match but this is good to know about the lights. When I have had fake trees I have kept the lights on overnight. I never would have thought about this! Thank you!


Thank you other pps too! We live in an apartment without a balcony and a unit across the building suffered a catastrophic fire one year when their tree caught fire from fireplace. I am not sure of specifics . But I’m learning a lot reading up on real tree maintenance.

We buy precut trees at Lowe’s or Whole Foods. Some years we’ve gotten trees that stayed nice for weeks. Some years we’ve gotten trees that looked fine at the tree lot, but never drank a bit of water (even though they do cut off the base of the trunk at the time of purchase), and they dried out immediately. Most years, the tree is getting dry by Christmas but still looks okay. If you’re making sure the tree stays watered, using strings of lights that aren’t old, and making sure the lights are unplugged when no one is around the tree, the fire risk isn’t that high. When the lights aren’t even plugged in, the tree is not going to spontaneously burst into flames.

We get our tree a couple of days after Thanksgiving but don't put it up right away. We keep it outside in a bucket of water in the shade. You can also just keep it outside and then cut a couple of inches off the bottom -- same as the tree sellers do.

....or you can just check the expiration date.

Anonymous wrote:We always get our real tree every year the day after Thanksgiving.

Be sure to water it daily to start -- it will suck up water quickly initially. After a while you won't have to water that often, but definitely check it regularly.

Ours generally last until well after Xmas, we've kept it up before until mid-January. Although a couple of times we get one that dies off sooner. Overall though, they've looked great until at least after New Years.

Sorry I should have mentioned that we go to one of the cut-your-own tree farms. So we know when it was cut.

We always get our real tree every year the day after Thanksgiving.

Be sure to water it daily to start -- it will suck up water quickly initially. After a while you won't have to water that often, but definitely check it regularly.

Ours generally last until well after Xmas, we've kept it up before until mid-January. Although a couple of times we get one that dies off sooner. Overall though, they've looked great until at least after New Years.

They are all the same trees. Any tree you acquire later in the season will not necessarily be "more fresh" - it is not the same as say, produce.

You can acquire your live tree at any point, but you do have to water it each and every day.

How early is too early for a real tree? Coworker told me it can easily catch fire if you get it too early and it dries out.