I. Before you leave home

• Measure your space:
  Make sure your tree fits your space, especially your ceiling. Buying a tree that is bigger than your space can cost extra money, is extra work to put up, and can detract from the appearance of the tree.
  
  
• Check your tree stand:
  Do you have a sturdy tree stand that will hold at least one gallon of water? Fresh trees need a constant supply of water and never want to be dried out. At Indian Rock Farm, we have both conventional tree stands and "Stand Strait" tree stand system.

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II. At the Farm

• Select a tree that suits your needs:
  • How long are you going to keep your tree up?
  • What type of ornaments do you have?
  • Do you want a strong Christmas tree fragrance?

  
  At Indian Rock Farm we only offer fir species. The firs are the longest lasting trees with excellent needle retention and have better fragrance than any other species.

• We offer the following types of fir trees:
  • Balsam Fir: The balsam is the traditional christmas tree that has the best fragrance and has excellent needle retention. Branches are a bit open and have good ornament support.
  • Fraser Fir: This tree is known as "the premium Christmas tree". It has excellent fragrance, firm branches with soft needles that have a silver appearance on the underside, it is slightly more open than the Balsam, has excellent ornament support, and is very long-lasting.
  • Concolor Fir: This fir is becoming a very popular tree. It has the appearance of a scotch pine, but has soft, blue to blue/green needles. It has a unique lemon/Christmas tree fragrance and is very long lasting with superb needle retention. Ornament support is good. People who try it often come back the next year asking for it.
    
    
• Services to look for:
  • Tree Cleaning: Trees naturally have some debris such as old needles, leaves, etc. particularly in the middle part of the tree. At Indian Rock Farm we use a tree shaker to remove any of this material so it won't end up on your floor. "Shaking the tree" usually brings out laughs from adults and children!
    
    
  • Fresh cut: Always make sure the tree has a nice straight, fresh cut at the bottom. We make sure every tree has one before we wrap it up for you.
    
  • Net Wrapping: Another great convenience is the net-wrapping we apply free of charge. We pull the tree through a large "funnel" and the net wrapping is applied to the tree. This service makes it much easier to transport the tree, bring it into the home, and provides protection so tree branches don't get inadvertently broken when handling the tree.
    
    
  • Stand Strait Tree Stands: We offer the Stand Strait tree stand system. This has often been called the "marriage saver" because it makes erecting the tree effortless.

  
  Here's how it works:
  We cut the tree to the length you need for your home. Then we hold the tree upright and straight in our special drilling machine where we drill a special tapered hole in the bottom of the tree.
  The Stand Strait tree stand has a pin in the bottom of the stand that is inserted into the drilled hole. You simply slip on the stand and stand up the tree where it is straight and very well supported. People tell us how much they love this type of tree stand.
  

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III. At Home

• When to put up your tree:
  Put your tree up as soon as possible. This will enable you to water the tree continuously so that it lasts for weeks and weeks.
  
  
• What if you can't put up your tree right away?
  If you can't put up your tree right away, store it in a cool, shady place. You can also put it in your garage or porch. Putting the end in a bucket of water will help your tree maintain its moisture level.
  
  
• If you haven't put the tree in water for several days, should you re-cut the trunk?
  Yes, putting a new fresh cut on the bottom of the tree will remove the wood that has dried up, exposing fresh, wet wood. You only need to cut about 3/4" to 1" off the trunk for the new cut.
  
  
• Do I need to put anything special in the tree water?
  The most important thing you can do to maintain freshness is to ALWAYS KEEP WATER IN THE TREE STAND. That is why we recommend that you have a tree stand that will hold at least one gallon of water. Trees can use a lot of water when brought into a warm, dry house in the winter. If you bring the tree inside from the freezing cold, using slightly warm water will help the tree thaw out and take up water.
  
  
• Do I need to keep the tree in any special place in the room?
  You can usually put the tree in any place that is convenient. Of course you don't want to place it too near an operating stove or fireplace. Putting it in front of the window will be fine, just keep it watered.

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