Adding bright greens and crisp reds to your holiday décor makes any space warm and welcoming. Keep your winter wonderland accents fresh all season long with these simple tips. Remember, fresh greenery will last indoors for about two weeks; outdoors, it will last considerably longer, sometimes even months.
Specific cut live decorations last longer than others
Pine is the longest-lasting for indoor use. It can stay fresh for up to a month.
Spruce is best used outdoors as they drop needles quickly inside, usually within the first week.
Boxwood stems last about a week indoors but may be preserved with a glycerin solution. The preserved stems may last years if properly maintained.
Traditional Holly will only last a few days indoors or out. However, Winterberry Holly can last for weeks outdoors.
Red Twig Dogwoods will last for years, inside or out.
To keep your cut greens fresh, try these care tips:
- Before making your arrangements, condition them to absorb as much water as possible. Snip off the bottom of the stems, then crush the cut ends with a small hammer. Crushing the stems helps them absorb more water. Set conditioned stems in a bucket or the sink full of room temperature water for a few hours.
- Place them out of direct sunlight and away from heat sources like vents and fireplaces.
- Keep them hydrated. Just like Christmas trees, cut greens need water to stay fresh. Mist your evergreen decorations with water every couple of days and, if possible, even every day.
- Keep the material moist if arrangements were made with potting soil or florist foam as the base.
- Spray foliage with an anti-desiccant. These easy-to-use products seal the pores on the leaves and bark and help the foliage retain moisture causing cut greens to last about twice as long.
Have more questions? The folks at Sugar Creek Gardens are here to help keep your holiday foliage ever green.