People buying real Christmas trees this festive season may be throwing money away if they buy a potted tree, warns Which? Gardening. People can expect to pay between £25 and £45 for potted¹ Christmas trees, but a new study² by Which? Gardening found that these trees looked dull and lifeless after three weeks, and one variety, the Norway spruce, had lost most of its needles. Potted trees are often planted in containers too small for the tree, making them difficult to water and look after.

While container-grown Christmas trees performed best overall in the Which? Gardening trial, these are an expensive option, costing between £30 and £50.³ These trees stayed looking healthy right to the end of the trial, and survive well outside after Christmas, but often cost too much for the family budget.

Which? Gardening found that cut trees⁴, sawn off at ground level and stood in a plastic stand with a water reservoir, performed almost as well as container grown trees, but usually cost less. People can expect to pay between £18 – £30 for a 1.8 – 2m Norway spruce or £30 – £45 for a Nordmann fir, and these stayed looking healthy throughout the trial.

Which? Gardening gives the following advice to people buying Christmas trees over the next few weeks:
• Measure the space where the Christmas tree will stand before shopping. Then measure both the height and the spread of your chosen tree to ensure a perfect fit.
• A fresh tree will have few browning needles. Needles should be flexible and not fall off if you run a branch through your fingers.
• Avoid cut trees that are nailed to wooden stands as they will be harder to keep fresh.
• Leave it as late as possible to buy a tree if you want it to stay looking healthy right up to Twelfth Night.
• Forest Stewardship Council certification guarantees that Christmas trees are grown sustainably and with environmental considerations in mind.
• The British Christmas Tree Growers Association promises that any tree bought from one of its members will have been grown sustainably in Britain.