Keep Your Christmas Greens Fresh & Beautiful All Season Long

How to choose, decorate with, and care for fresh evergreens, from your front-door wreath to your winter porch pots.

Fresh evergreen porch pot with birch branches, pinecones and burgundy ribbon beside a front door decorated with a matching wreath and garland.

There's nothing quite like the smell of fresh evergreens at Christmas. Once we start making porch pots, wreaths, swags and centerpieces at the garden center, you can smell the season before you even get to the displays.

And since we spend so much time working with fresh greens, I thought I'd share a few things that make a difference in how long they last. Whether you're buying an arrangement already made or spreading branches across your worktable at home, a little care goes a long way.

Start With Fresh, Quality Greens

The best care starts before you hang the wreath or fill the pot. Look for greens with flexible needles and branches rather than material that already feels dry and brittle. If needles fall off readily when you handle a branch, choose something fresher.

If you're buying loose greens before you're ready to decorate, keep them somewhere cool and shaded. An unheated garage can be a good holding spot. Give the stems a fresh cut and stand the cut ends in water until you're ready to work.

Think of loose greens as cut material that still needs moisture. Leaving them in a warm room while you wait for decorating day gives them a head start on drying out.

Let the Weather Help You

Our chilly northern Illinois weather is an advantage when it comes to outdoor Christmas greens. I always recommend waiting until we've had some good cold weather before putting together outdoor holiday arrangements.

A warm November afternoon might feel wonderful while you're decorating, but warmth, strong sunlight and drying winds work against fresh greenery. If you're getting an early start, keep your greens cool until you're ready to display them.

Location matters, too. A wreath tucked beneath a covered entry will usually hold up better than one hanging in afternoon sun with wind blowing across it all day. Give porch pots, swags and roping a little protection wherever you can.

Give Your Porch Pots a Drink

Watering the soil beneath fresh evergreen branches in an outdoor winter porch pot.

Once your porch pot is assembled, don't forget about the material holding those stems in place. Keep the soil or arrangement medium moist while temperatures are above freezing. Check it during mild spells, especially if the pot sits beneath a roof where rain and snow can't reach it.

For indoor arrangements made in a vase or water-holding floral foam, check the water source regularly and replenish it as needed. A light misting may help a little, but it doesn't replace water available to the cut stems.

Mix Your Greens for More Texture

Four evergreen branches on a wooden worktable, labeled left to right: Balsam Fir, White Pine, Cedar and Carolina Sapphire.

One of my favorite parts of making fresh evergreen arrangements is seeing how the different greens work together. You don't need every branch to match.

Balsam gives an arrangement fullness. Pine adds long needles and movement. Cedar can soften the edges, while Carolina Sapphire brings another color and texture into the mix.

Start with greens that give your arrangement its shape, then tuck contrasting pieces where you'll notice them. Let a few branches extend beyond the others rather than trimming everything into one uniform outline.

Pinecones, birch branches and interesting twigs can make it your own. You might already have something useful in your yard.

If you're harvesting evergreen branches at home, take small amounts from different areas and step back occasionally to check the plant's shape. Leave live foliage behind on the branches you're shortening. The goal is to gather a little decorating material without leaving noticeable holes in your landscape.

Plan Differently for Indoor Greens

A fresh centerpiece on the table or a swag above a doorway brings that evergreen fragrance inside, but our heated homes dry greens much faster than the weather outdoors.

Keep indoor arrangements away from heating vents, fireplaces and direct sunlight. Never place fresh greenery near an open flame. If you want the look of candlelight among the branches, use a flameless candle.

Check your greens as the season goes on, and remove them when they become dry and brittle. If you're decorating for a particular dinner or gathering, consider putting indoor greens out closer to that date so they're looking their best when company arrives.

More With Michelle: Decorating With Fresh Christmas Greens

I'll be sharing more about choosing and using different evergreens in my Gardening TLC video, “Decorating With Fresh Christmas Greens — Types, Uses & Care Tips,” scheduled for Tuesday, November 17.

Look for it on Gardening TLC as you start planning your holiday decorating.

Bring a Little Fresh Evergreen Home

We're busy creating fresh wreaths, porch pots, swags and centerpieces at The Landscape Connection, and we'll have loose greens available for those of you who enjoy making your own.

Come out and see what we're working on, pick up greens for your next project, or join us for a winter workshop and make an arrangement with us. If you're unsure which greens to use or how to care for something you're taking home, ask. That's what we're here for.

I hope you'll leave a little room for fresh evergreens this Christmas. That first whiff when you walk through the front door is one of my favorite parts of the season.