DAYTON — The Drouin family of Standish walked among the pine trees at Boiling Spring Tree Farm Tuesday afternoon searching for the perfect Christmas tree to decorate the home for holiday season.

It was a little drizzly, but it didn’t stop the family from participating in the annual tradition of getting a tree, as 2-year-old Bailey and 4-year-old Emma gave suggestions and their parents Chris and Sarah eyeballed the trees to make sure the tree was an appropriate size for their home.

“It’s the best way,” said tree farm Clem Meserve, of the “choose and cut” method. People can wonder around until they find the perfect tree. The farm offers complimentary hot chocolate and candy canes and on the weekends wagon rides.

Meserve, who has operated the tree farm for 38 years, has about 30 acre of trees. He offers primarily Balsam fir, which is native to Maine, but also has some Fraser fir, and has some trees as tall as 14 feet, for those with cathedral ceilings.

Meserve starts selling trees the day after Thanksgiving and continues through mid December. He said he occasionally gets a request from a customer who wants a tree a bit early and said one year he had a request from a family who was adopting a child from Peru for a Christmas tree in February.

Meserve said there’s one customer who brings a string with her every year, so she can get a tree with the perfect circumference – nothing smaller and nothing bigger. “She hunts until she finds the right tree,” he said.

Maintaining a tree once its home is pretty simple, according to Meserve.
“There’s no secret to it,” he said. “It’s pretty basic. Keep it watered.”

Meserve said it’s important to get a stand that can hold enough water for the tree.
Meserve recommends watering the tree every day. “Twice a day if the cat drinks out of it,” he said.

The National Christmas Tree Association advises a Christmas tree will absorb a gallon of water or more in the first 24 hours, and one or more quarts a day thereafter. Water prevents the tree from drying out and keeps it fresh and fragrant.

The National Christmas Tree Association recommends keeping trees away from heat and draft sources such as fireplaces and radiators.

Meserve recommends if you buy a tree that isn’t fresh cut, or if you wait awhile after cutting a tree to put it up, to cut the end of the tree as the end will seal up.

The National Christmas Tree Association concurs, advising that a seal of dried sap will form over the cut stump in four to six hours if the water drops below the base of the tree, preventing the tree from absorbing water later when the tree stand is refilled.

— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 325 or [email protected].