For Christmas enthusiasts with real trees, making sure their evergreens last until the big day and don’t become a dried-up fire hazard is of utmost importance.
In December 2025, a decades-old claim (archived) recirculated online that said using hot water to hydrate a Christmas tree could keep it looking nice for longer.
One Facebook user wrote:
ENJOY YOUR REAL CHRISTMAS TREE WELL INTO THE NEW YEAR! Before watering your tree, boil the water first, let it stand for 5 minutes and then water the tree! This will keep the sap from getting hard and allow for the water to go up the bark! Cold water clogs openings with the sap and your tree will die much quicker!
The claim also circulated on Instagram (archived) and TikTok (archived).
Snopes could not prove whether this alleged life hack actually works or makes a difference to the appearance of a harvested Christmas tree. In our research, we found credible sources speaking both for and against the use of hot water. Therefore, we leave this claim unrated.
Some experts recommend hot water ‘life hack’
We found several credible sources in our research that said you should pour hot (not boiling) water in the base of your Christmas tree, including the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, the North Carolina Christmas Tree Association (archived), and the Great Swamp Greenhouses garden center (archived).
The “pro” sources argued that hot water helped increase water uptake by melting built-up sap on the trunk, which in turn helped keep the tree looking nicer for longer.
Fresh cut on base of tree more important
We also found credible sources saying that the temperature of the water used to hydrate a Christmas tree didn’t affect water uptake.
In 2012, Rick Bates, professor of horticulture at Penn State University, spoke to NPR about the best tips and tricks for Christmas trees, telling the “Talk of the Nation” program that:
Cold water is fine. What does matter is the fresh cut on the base of the tree. If it’s been, you know, a day or so since that tree has been harvested, putting the fresh cut opens up those pores that are going to draw in the water. And if the water is cold or hot, it doesn’t matter so much as having a fresh cut and no sap covering that base of the trunk.
Scholars Gary Chastagner and Eric Hinesley supported this statement, writing for the National Christmas Tree Association: “The temperature of the water used to fill the stand is not important and does not affect water uptake.”
Chastagner and Hinesley are both respected academics in the field of Christmas tree research.
Asked via email in December 2024 whether he was still of the opinion that water temperature made no difference to the health of a tree, Hinesley confirmed this, adding: “Gary Chastagner and I never found anything to be better than plain water alone. And there is no need to boil it before use.”
Hinesley further supported Bates’ claim that making a fresh cut off the trunk of the Christmas tree, usually about 1/2 to 1 inch thick, would help water uptake.
In any case, Hinesley said, the most important factor to keeping a harvested Christmas tree looking nice and lasting longer was providing it with ample water, a claim also repeated in previous research:
When supplied with water, cut Christmas trees generally consume about 1 qt (about 1 L) of water per day per inch (2.54 cm) of stem diameter. Thus, a tree with a 4-in diameter trunk would use about 4 qt (about 4 L) of water per day. The biggest mistake by consumers is using a stand with too little capacity, resulting in trees drying up between waterings. If this happens, the tree might not rehydrate when rewatered. (Hinesley, L. E. and G. A. Chastagner, 2016)
In addition to preserving the tree’s visual appearance, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said that a dry Christmas tree could catch fire in under a minute, posing a safety risk to families and their guests.
In conclusion, the best tree is a hydrated tree — for the longevity of your Christmas spirit and safety alike.
Sources
Care Tips | National Christmas Tree Association. 1 Aug. 2019, https://realchristmastrees.org/all-about-trees/care-tips/.
Christmas Trees. https://www.esf.edu/eis/eis-christmas-trees.php. Accessed 9 Dec. 2024.
“Eric Hinesley.” Horticultural Science, https://cals.ncsu.edu/horticultural-science/people/leh/. Accessed 9 Dec. 2024.
“Gary A. Chastagner.” Gary A. Chastagner, https://www.apsnet.org/members/give-awards/awards/ExcellenceExtension/Pages/GaryAChastagner.aspx. Accessed 9 Dec. 2024.
Hill, Deborah B. Caring for Christmas Trees. https://publications.ca/sites/publications.ca.uky.edu/files/for105.pdf. Accessed 9 Dec. 2024.
Hinesley, L. E. and G. A. Chastagner. “Christmas Trees.” The Commercial Storage of Fruits, Vegetables, and Florist and Nursery Crops, edited by Gross, Kenneth C., Chien Yi Wang, and Mikal Saltveit. Agriculture Handbook 66, revised, USDA, Agricultural Research Service, 2016, p. 650-658.
NPR. Using Science to Care for Your Christmas Tree. 14 Dec. 2012. NPR, https://www.npr.org/2012/12/14/167255701/using-science-to-care-for-your-christmas-tree.
US Consumer Product Safety Commission. Holiday Decorating Dangers. 14 Dec. 2009, https://www.cpsc.gov/Newsroom/Video/Holiday-Decorating-Dangers.
@USCPSC. ‘Fire Is like That. Keep Your Christmas Tree Well-Watered.’ X, 17 Dec. 2025, https://x.com/USCPSC/status/2001327779338752076.
