With December well underway, families who decorate for Christmas might be thinking about selecting that perfect live tree for their homes. If you are choosing the real thing this year, here are some tips to keep your Christmas tree as healthy as possible this holiday season.
Two simple things to keep in mind when you are preparing your tree for the indoors: Ask for a fresh cut on the 
trunk and make sure the tree gets water right away. Most species can be without water for six to eight hours before dried sap forms a seal over the trunk, making it much harder, if not impossible, for water to absorb.
Even if you are not going to decorate it right away… just come home, put it in a bucket of water and lean it up upright either outside or in the garage. Plain, fresh water is important. If you want your tree to be its best and brightest for Christmas Day and beyond, experts say the simplest solution is to feed your tree with water in a tree stand. You should check water levels twice a day – when you get up and when you go to bed – to get an idea how fast the tree is absorbing water. While some people swear by a sugar solution or purchasing a tree preservative, tree growers said additives don’t necessarily make a noticeable difference.
Also, the temperature of the water doesn’t matter and drilling a hole in the base of the trunk does not improve water uptake. Needles don’t have to be all over your house. Different species of trees will react differently to coming indoors, according to Doug Leies, a tree grower with a family farm in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. He said firs are generally better than spruces in this regard. You’re most likely to get the largest selection immediately after Thanksgiving. However, Leies said the best time to make your pick is when you have time to enjoy the full experience. “This is meant to be fun, after all,” he said. So your tree is up and all you need now is snow for Christmas.
But first, by next week the models are predicting a temporary relaxation of the amplified pattern (milder 
temps) across North America then followed by a re-amplification of the pattern (colder temps) heading into the holiday season. When the pattern returns to an amplified state there seems to be uncertainty among the models where will be the axis of the cold temperatures. I have said all along that our chances for a white Christmas is better this year than in years past. As I look at the outlook for Christmas weekend, I can see a storm is coming. The weather does not look quiet for the days leading up to Christmas.
First, it looks, like the two jet streams will phase together and produce a big storm between the 21st and the 24th. I do anticipate the storm to linger into Christmas Day across the region. Now, bear in mind, there are a lot of questions that will need to be answered before we get too excited over this. What position will the storm form in, how far south will the cold penetrate, where will the rain/snow line set up? These are just a few questions that need to be answered. We could get j
ust rain…or an ice storm…or buried in snow. Just know we are still several days away, maybe more from nailing down details.
I can say that I am pretty certain the storm is coming…it is just what form it will take. I also feel pretty sure the cold is returning about that time. The predicted resultant perturbation to the stratospheric polar vortex appears to me to favor a subsequent cold period in the Eastern United States later this month. To be honest, the way this plays out will probably set the stage for how the rest of the winter will go. So, for right now, we will have to take a wait and see stand until more details are known. By the way, if you are keeping up with my accuracy…I posted the following back on October 18th 2017. “The time to watch will be the 23rd, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Indications are that a storm will arrive and will likely start as rain on the 23rd but change to either ice or snow as temperatures drop into the low 20’s at night for Christmas Eve.” Not too bad for that far back. Feel free to leave comments and be sure to hit the “Like” button at the bottom of this post.