Ceri Thomas, editor of Which? Gardening, says:

“During the festive season Christmas trees are the focal point of many households. No one wants a tree that’s going to drop all its needles or look dead before Christmas is over.

“If you only want your tree to last for one Christmas, don’t bother spending money on a repotted or container grown tree. Instead, pick up a healthy cut tree from a reputable grower. These trees performed almost as well as a container grown tree, and could save you a few pounds.”

1 Potted Christmas trees are field-grown trees, dug up and replanted in pots.

2 Which? Gardening bought a cut, potted and container grown tree of the two main varieties, Norway spruce and Nordmann fir, as soon as they arrived in garden centres in November 2007. These trees were watered regularly for three weeks, and monitored for needle drop. After three weeks the trees in pots were removed from the pots and their roots examined.

3 People can expect to pay £30 – £45 for a Norway spruce and £35 – £50 for a Nordmannfir.

4 Cut trees are field-grown and then sawn off at ground level.