As people begin shopping for Christmas trees this holiday season, plant experts are offering tips about how to find the best tree and how to take care of it.
Morton Arboretum Plant Knowledge Specialist Sharon Yiesla said the key to finding the best live Christmas trees is freshness.
"We want to see needles that have a good green, fresh color," she said. "Sometimes, if you just run your hand over the branches gently, if you get a lot of needles falling off, that says that tree may not be as fresh as we want it."
And once you bring the tree home, Yiesla said it's important to keep an eye on how much water it's using.
"I think when people put their tree into the tree stand for the first time, they often underestimate how much water that tree could soak up from the stand," she said. "I always encourage people to fill your stand and go back after a couple hours and see what's left. Has it dried out? Is it halfway down?"
She said to keep the tree from drying out throughout the holidays, she recommends protecting it from heat.
"We want to keep the tree away from any kind of heat sources, such as the fireplace, radiators, anything that might cause it to dry out," she said.
This also means people should be mindful when it comes to decorating their live tree, she said. Yiesla recommends using LED lights instead of traditional lights.
"While it's great to use your traditional lights, you just want to really be very careful on inspecting them," she said. "Maybe start a new tradition and opt for some of the LED lights that are cooler and more energy efficient."
And if the tree does end up drying out and becoming a safety hazard, Yiesla said to check with the tree lot you purchased it from and ask about their return policy.
"If you see you're getting a lot of needles on the floor below the tree, or if you feel like as you hold it in your hand, if you feels like everything's brittle and sort of a dry feeling to the touch, that's probably the time to think about removing it from the house so it doesn't become a fire hazard," she said.
You can find more Christmas Tree Care tips on the Morton Arboretum website.