GMC Offers 10 Tips for Picking and Packing the Perfect Christmas Tree
11 Dezember 2003 - 4:00PM
PR Newswire (US)
GMC Offers 10 Tips for Picking and Packing the Perfect Christmas
Tree DETROIT, Dec. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- The tradition of choosing the
perfect Christmas tree has been one of the highlights of the
holiday season for more than 400 years. This year, approximately 30
million real Christmas trees will be sold in North America. With
Christmas just around the corner, more and more families are
packing up the car and getting ready to shop for this year's ideal
tree. GMC, in partnership with the National Christmas Tree
Association (NCTA), offers these 10 suggestions on how to select,
transport, and recycle your Christmas tree. 1) Before you go to buy
your tree, measure the height and width of the room where you will
be displaying the tree. Trees in the field look smaller than they
do indoors, so make sure you get a tree that will fit in your home.
Most trees are trimmed to an 80 percent taper, so a tree that is 10
feet tall will be eight feet wide. 2) Think about the type of
species you would like. Popular ones include the Balsam fir,
Douglas fir, Fraser fir, Noble fir, Scotch pine, Virginia pine, and
White pine. For more information, go to the NCTA's web site,
http://www.realchristmastrees.org/ . 3) When you arrive at the
Christmas tree farm or retail lot, look for a tree that fits your
needs. Check the trunk to make sure that it is sufficiently
straight. Also, check to be sure that the tree will fit in your
stand. 4) Check to see how fresh the tree is. One simple test is to
gently grasp a branch between your thumb and forefinger and pull it
toward you. Very few needles should come off in your hand if the
tree is fresh. Shake or bounce the tree on its stump. You should
not see an excessive amount of green needles fall to the ground.
Some loss of interior brown needles is normal and will occur over
the lifetime of a tree. 5) When you purchase your Christmas tree,
remember to ask for a tree removal bag. It can be used as a tree
skirt and then pulled up around the tree to help keep the floors
clean when the tree is being taken down. 6) There are several steps
you can take to avoid damaging the tree during the drive home. Take
a couple items with you to make it more convenient and quicker,
including an old sheet or blanket and half-dozen bungee cords.
Almost all Christmas tree sellers, whether a retail lot or farm,
will run the tree through a baling machine which will secure
netting around your tree. The netting makes it easier to handle the
tree, carry it where needed and easier to secure in your vehicle.
Then wrap the old sheet around the tree. 7) Make sure you have a
transport-friendly vehicle. If you drive an SUV, like a GMC Envoy
XUV, open up the power-sliding rear roof or rear glass so you can
fit the whole tree inside your vehicle. This is especially
convenient if you choose to buy a living tree with the root ball
attached. If the tree measures six feet tall or under, you can even
position the tree upright to allow for more room in cargo area. The
Envoy XUV's drop or swing tailgate, next-generation midgate with
power glass and all-weather cargo area with the QuickDrain system
allows for quick and easy loading, transport and clean up once
you've reached your destination. If you have a pickup truck, you
can just lay the tree in the bed. And if you drive a car like a
sedan or hatchback, you should set the tree in the trunk and secure
the trunk or hatch just above where it touches the tree. 8) When
you set up your tree at home, always make a fresh cut off the base
of the tree before putting it in a water stand. After time, the cut
stump gets a crusty sap seal and air in the water vessels, which
lessens a tree's water absorption capacity. A fresh cut of
approximately one half inch will reopen the pores that take up
water. 9) Don't add anything to your tree's water, such as bleach,
aspirin, or fertilizer, to make it last longer. Research has shown
that plain tap water is by far the best. Some commercial additives
and home concoctions can actually be detrimental to a tree's
moisture retention and increase needle loss. Water holding stands
that are kept filled with plain water will extend the freshness of
trees for weeks. 10) Once the holidays are over, you can recycle
your Christmas tree. Recycled Christmas trees are used for a
variety of environmentally friendly purposes, including beachfront
erosion prevention, chipping, lake and river shoreline
stabilization, and fish habitats. You can access local Christmas
tree recycling information by typing in your zip code at the NCTA's
web site, http://www.realchristmastrees.org/ , or at the EARTH 911
web site, http://www.cleanup.org/ , or you can call 1-800-CLEANUP.
About GMC GMC is a division of General Motors Corporation. The
division markets the Sierra, Yukon, Envoy, Sonoma, Savana, Safari
and Topkick. New to GMC's lineup of professional grade trucks this
year is the Canyon and Envoy XUV, the most versatile SUV that
features a power-sliding rear roof, drop or swing tailgate with
power window, next-generation midgate with power glass and a
QuickDrain water management system. GMC trucks deliver outstanding
capabilities that exceed customers' expectations with unique
features and design elements. For further information on GMC and
the new Envoy XUV, visit http://www.gmc.com/ . DATASOURCE: General
Motors Corporation CONTACT: Carolyn Markey of General Motors,
+1-313-667-4128, ; or Rick Dungey of National Christmas Tree
Association, +1-314-205-9103, Web site: http://media.gm.com/
http://www.gm.com/ http://www.realchristmastrees.org/
http://www.cleanup.org/
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