Christmas tree problem... HELP!

Did you get the tree from a reliable dealer? Many trees are sprayed with a chemical this time of year and if stolen and used inside a heated building, gives off unpleasant odors.

Tom J

A tiny bit of bleach might help but I don't know what it will do to the tree.

Charcoal perhaps?

alice

Did you cut off the stump before placing in water? maybe they dipped the trees into a perserve before setting them out for sale. recut the end ( I know a big job after decorating the darn thing) and place a little bleach into the new water. ( no more than a teaspoon) maybe try that first then if it doesn't work recutting. also place a dish or two of baking soda or charcoal or something like that under the tree. A fir tree should smell good

A bit of bleach won't hurt -- plants need trace amounts of chlorine anyway...notice your sink water hasn't killed anything lately!

John

It might be caused by the sap. The nickname for true firs (all others besides Doug Fir) is Piss Fir because of the odor of the sap when you peel the bark. As others have stated, you can use some chlorine bleach. Also, you can use plastic wrap to seal off the area over the water to keep the odor from coming into the room.

Just out of curiosity: did you fill the water container using a washed-out milk carton? If so, you might want to rethink how well it was washed out before water was put in it.

I once did a similar thing when filling the gravel trays beneath my African violets. Just a teeny bit of curdled milk in water smells exactly like vomit.

We have a Frazier Fur that we put up just after Thanksgiving. Ther is an odor coming from the water in the stand that is very much like vomit. I'm not kidding.

It might be caused by the sap. The nickname for true firs (all others besides Doug Fir) is **** Fir because of the odor of the sap when you peel the bark. As others have stated, you can use some chlorin bleach. Also, you can use plastic wrap to seal off the area over the water to keep the odor from coming into the room.

-- Pardon my spam deterrent; send email to snipped-for-privacy@earthlink.net Cheers, Steve Henning in Reading, PA USA

-- sockiescat

We have a Frazier Fur that we put up just after Thanksgiving. Ther is an odor coming from the water in the stand that is very much like vomit. I'm not kidding.

It might be caused by the sap. The nickname for true firs (all others besides Doug Fir) is **** Fir because of the odor of the sap when you peel the bark. As others have stated, you can use some chlorin bleach. Also, you can use plastic wrap to seal off the area over the water to keep the odor from coming into the room.

-- Pardon my spam deterrent; send email to snipped-for-privacy@earthlink.net Cheers, Steve Henning in Reading, PA USA

-- sockiescat

John wrote: A bit of bleach won't hurt -- plants need trace amounts of chlorine anyway...notice your sink water hasn't killed anything lately!

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So, you will drink Clorox because you have noticed that sink water hasn't killed anything lately?

Your premise that bleach is called for in this case may be correct, but the logic upon which you base your opinion is sophomoric at best.

Nope...used to work for a forestry company. Pine trees especially like a trace amount of copper of all things -- not that I'd throw a penny in the water...or maybe I should!

Point was, chlorine is a natural chemical the tree is used to and a bit more won't hurt it. Too much would be toxic but I guess in this case that would just mean that it died faster.

The original poster asked for ideas, not a treatise on a particular methodology; hence the simplified answer.

High school sophmore, even!

John Who is staying warm in Houston! When he isn't carrying Christmas trees out to people's cars and answering questions like this one during a cold front...

The important thing to remember is this is a cut tree (e.g., dead, or dying), so discussions of how bad chlorine may be for living things is irrelevant. The chlorine kills the bacteria. Florists put chlorine in the water of flower arrangements to keep them fresher longer, because it kills the bacteria, not the already dead flowers. A little chlorine in a Christmas tree stand doesn't hurt, and usually helps. _________________ John Henry Wheeler Washington, DC USDA Zone 7

Once again - premise may be correct, but logic is very faulty. Didn't I say that the first time?

What does it matter if you can't figure out how to quote so people know WTF you are talking about?

Learn how to follow a thread, dimwit. It is extremely easy if you are marginally sentient. If he could get his paws to work on the keyboard, I believe that even my Doberman could master that skill.

Yes, de Fragile Warrior, I will have fries with that order. Thank you, and please don't forget to put paper napkins in the carryout bag.

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de Fragile Warrior Sports Supplies wrote "Gide> Once again - premise may be correct, but logic is very faulty.

What does it matter if you can't figure out how to quote so people know WTF you are talking about?

Oh, look, you went from non-quoting f****it to top-posting fucknozzle. When the bar is lowered you can still slither under it. Congrats!

Oh looky Tex, the Broke Back Mountain boys are back and having another hissy fit.