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Why is My Christmas Tree Not Drinking Water? (3 Reasons & Caring Tips)

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Christmas trees are a tradition, especially loved for their freshness, aesthetic beauty and outdoorsy fragrance. Christmas trees made artificially simply cannot match the real ones.

But Christmas trees are often seen catching destructive fires during the holiday season. That’s why keeping the tree well hydrated is very important.

But your tree might not be drinking water that’s essential for sustaining life. Are you also concerned about why is my Christmas tree not drinking water?

A Christmas tree remains fresh for almost two to three weeks if cared for properly. It is a centre of attraction while decorating during holidays.

The fresh pine scent from Christmas trees also lifts up the environment. But watering a real Christmas tree is pretty challenging, especially if it is indoors.

Feeding them plenty of water to make them last, at least for holidays, is not easy. They stop drinking water before the holidays are over and end up drying.

If you’re struggling with a drying Christmas tree that’s not drinking water, stay till the end of this article to get the answer to your query about why is my Christmas tree not drinking water. You’ll also get some caring tips to make your Christmas tree green and happy again.

Why is My Christmas Tree Not Drinking Water
Why is My Christmas Tree Not Drinking Water? via Reddit

Reasons That Answer Why Is My Christmas Tree Not Drinking Water

A lot of you might be hovering around in this article to get the answer to your query,” Why is my Christmas tree not drinking water?”.

So to let you know, there are different factors that cause your Christmas tree to not take the water you provide it. Below are some reasons why your Christmas plant is unable to drink the water provided to keep the plant fresh.

1)    Roots Cut Off

While looking for the answer to why is my Christmas tree not drinking water, the first thing to know is that the roots are already cut.

Roots play a significant role in keeping the tree fresh and alive. The roots of a tree, apart from absorbing water, also supplies the necessary nutrients to keep a tree alive.

When the roots of a Christmas tree gets cut off, the tree now absorbs and transports water through a pipe-like network present in its leaves and trunk to stay fresh.

It can stay fresh for some weeks, but after that, the tree becomes unable to get the nutrients required to sustain life in it. Due to the lack of essential nutrients that only the roots can provide, the tree gets weak and eventually dies.

2)    Hard & Dry Sap

A Christmas tree needs to be cut to use for decoration, especially indoors. There are not many options apart from cutting the tree. So, what might be the reasons other than the roots being cut off that makes your tree not drink water? Let’s see.

After you cut down a Christmas tree, the fresh wounded sap hardens within 4-6 hours. This prevents the intake of water into the tree.

The water uptake through the trunk of the tree is hindered due to the sap getting hard. The sap also gets dry, eventually drying out the whole Christmas tree if kept for a longer time.

A Christmas tree that has lost more than 85% of the moisture when alive cannot generally regain the original freshness.

3)    Use of Products

If you’re honestly looking for answers to your query of why is my Christmas tree not drinking water, looking out for products used in the water is of utmost importance. Christmas trees face difficulty in taking up water if you add products to the water or the tree itself.

Various products are used in the water that’s fed to the Christmas tree to keep it fresh. These products are rumoured to help keep Christmas trees fresh.

But that’s not true. Water additions such as Vodka, Pennies, Sugar, and other mixes play a significant role in causing your Christmas tree not to drink water.

Caring Tips If Your Christmas Tree Is Not Drinking Water

Knowing about some precautions and tips to care about might help you out if your Christmas tree is not drinking water. Below are some caring tips that help you keep your Christmas tree fresh.

1)    Remove the Sap Layer

If you want to keep your Christmas tree hydrated throughout the holidays, remove the sap layer formed in the cut end. This can be done with the help of a new cut.

If the sap dries out, it seals off the Christmas tree to prevent water absorption. You can cut off an inch to remove a dry and sealed sap layer to keep it fresh.

2)    Avoid Use of Additional Products

There are various products advertised to help you keep your Christmas tree fresh. So, avoid the use of such Spray-on Fire Retardants, Vodka, Bleach, Sugar, Copper Pennies, Aspirin, Lime Soda and others.

They have almost no effect in keeping your tree fresh. On the other hand, they might actually slow down the water retention and increase moisture loss in the tree.

3)    Keep Your Tree Submerged in Water

If you want your Christmas tree to continue drinking water and maintain its perky looks, you should not allow your tree to dry out.

So, make sure to keep your Christmas tree submerged in the freshwater. You can use a water bucket, or a tree stand filled with tap water with no addition of any other products. 


Conclusion

If you are with this article right from the start, you have already known the answer to your question, “Why is my Christmas tree not drinking water?”.

Having a Christmas tree fresh and drinking water all the time during holidays is pretty challenging. But with the caring tips discussed in this article, you can take up the challenge.   

The dry and hard sap layer that’s sealing the tree from absorbing water needs to be cut slightly at the base. It again opens a path for the water intake to the tree. Also, make sure that your chopped Christmas tree is soaked in water all the time.