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For a truly festive holiday season, nothing beats the decorating power of fresh greenery. Trees, wreaths, garlands, and poinsettias fill your home with both scents and sights of merriment.

And nothing adds to December’s nostalgia like a fresh-cut evergreen tree. The lovely branches make your holidays green—literally and figuratively.

“Fresh cut Christmas trees are sustainable because they are harvested and replanted on a farmer’s land. Live Christmas trees produce oxygen and support American farmers.”

Andy Lynn, manager of the horticulture program at Rappahannock Adult Activities

This holiday season, Rappahannock Adult Activities will sell trees, wreaths, and roping for the first time alongside their traditional poinsettias. RAAI’s gorgeous holiday blooms have graced church altars, historic homes, and businesses for many years.

Tips for Holiday Greenery

To ensure that trees stay merry and bright throughout the season, Lynn offers the following tips:

  • Know you ceiling height and the size of your Christmas tree stand.  Consider bringing your stand with you when buying a tree to make sure the stand fits the base of the tree.
  • Look at the tree from all sides to be sure you have a straight tree. 
  • A vertical split in the trunk is not common, but it is also not harmful.
  • A fresh cut from the trunk of the tree should be made shortly before placing the tree in water.  High quality tree suppliers such as Rappahannock Adult Activities, Inc. will gladly make a fresh cut on the base of your tree and cut some lower branches off as needed. Be sure to get the tree into a bucket of water an hour or two following the fresh cut to insure that the tree will “drink”.
  • If you do not plan on putting your tree up for a while simply forego the fresh cut and do it yourself when you are ready to put your tree up.
  • Always check your water and NEVER let your tree stand dry out.  This can cause the tree to take in air rather than water resulting in a vascular airlock.  The tree may not drink properly after this happens.  A healthy tree will continually consume water from the stand.
  • NEVER, NEVER leave electric lights burning when you are not in close proximity of your tree.  Do not forget to unplug them at night while you are sleeping.  Electric lights on a dry tree can cause a fire.

Holiday greenery—trees, wreaths, and roping—and poinsettias can be purchased from Nov. 26 through Dec. 21 at 601 Lafayette Boulevard (the former Roxbury Mills Farm and Garden Center), Monday through Friday from noon to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Poinsettias can also be ordered online.

Live greenery makes your holiday decor magical.

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