Adding sugar to your Christmas tree water won’t make it last longer

Every year, in the lead-up to Christmas, millions of Americans visit Christmas tree farms around the country to purchase a real, live tree for the festive season.

Many individuals are conducting online searches to find out the best way to maintain the freshness of a real Christmas tree. A number of VERIFY readers and various websites suggest that adding substances like sugar, soda, or vodka to the tree’s water can extend its lifespan.

Does adding sugar or other substances to Christmas tree water help keep it fresh? 

No, adding sugar or other substances to Christmas tree water won’t help keep it fresh.

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According to the Michigan State University (MSU) Extension, plain tap water is all that is needed to keep your Christmas tree fresh during the holidays. On its website, a professor warns against adding any extra additives like sugar, aspirin, bleach or floral preservatives to the tree’s water. 

“The keys to keeping the needles on your tree while it is on display in your house can be summarized as: fresh tree, fresh cut, fresh water,” Bert Cregg, Ph.D., from MSU Extension writes. 

Kathy Crowley, Ph.D., an assistant professor of plant biology at Unity College in Maine, told VERIFY adding things like sugar, soda or vodka can actually do more harm to the tree than good. She also says, “All the tree needs is basic fresh water.” 

“I know all of us would love to be able to add something magical to the water to keep our Christmas trees more fresh. But truly, the main thing you can do for your Christmas tree is to make sure you have a fresh tree to start with and that your tree isn’t all dried out before you even get it home,” Crowley said. 

“If you add too many extra things to the water, you could conceivably cause some of the water to be drawn out the bottom of the tree rather than going up into the tree — much better simply to let the natural process of water uptake work,” Crowley added.

The National Christmas Tree Association (NCTA) says displaying trees in water with a traditional reservoir type stand is the “most effective” way to minimize needle loss and maintain the tree’s freshness. 

“When you get it home, make sure you cut off the base of the trunk — just a narrow disc, maybe half an inch to make sure that the base of the trunk is open and that water will be able to enter the tree,” Crowley said. “Then, make sure that water is always touching the base of the tree, and that way the tree will be able to get the water that it needs to stay hydrated.”

This story is also available in Spanish / Lee este artículo también en español: No, añadir azúcar al agua del árbol de Navidad no lo mantendrá fresco