How to choose an online Christmas tree supplier

It’s a tradition that many families like to enjoy by installing a real Christmas tree every year in their homes.

This tends to be a highlight of the festive season when they can buy a real fresh tree and then decorate it.

However, what with fears over Covid, it’s highly likely that growing numbers of us will consider ordering online and have a Christmas tree delivered this year.

As with visiting a shop or a Christmas tree grower, you can buy an impressive real tree with lush, green foliage – but from the comfort of your home.

And the fresh-cut trees in the UK will be delivered to your door at a time to suit you.

Online suppliers of Christmas trees make it easy to buy a real tree and will offer the traditional offerings including a Norway spruce, a Nordmann fir and a Fraser fir.

Clive Collins who runs catsfieldchristmastreefarm.com in Battle, East Sussex, told us that his online business selling real Christmas trees is becoming more popular with ‘busy people’ and ‘easy lifers’.

He added that his most popular trees are 6ft 6inch Nordmann firs because “These trees, even if they are not cared for, will look like a Christmas tree at Christmas time.”

 

How to buy a Christmas tree online

There will be a lot of people who may think buying a Christmas tree online is a strange thing to do.

However, with most of us now being comfortable buying from online shops, it’s a natural progression to select, and have delivered, a real tree for our homes.

But how does this compare when most people want to see the tree that they want to buy first?

And let’s be honest, we would want to buy a tree that looks fresh, is dark green, pretty and is the right size for our needs.

If you are concerned about the quality of a Christmas tree you buy online, deal with a reputable supplier – or a local Christmas tree grower.

Tom Onslow-Cole, the co-founder of Croft & Cole, one of the UK’s leading online luxury Christmas tree retailers, told us: “We have a stringent seven-step process that each of our trees must pass to be given our tree guarantee. We examine around 75,000 Nordmann Fir trees each summer and select only the very finest for our customers’ homes.

“We hand-select the finest trees from plantations across the UK and retail online. We deliver each tree in a mess-free, recyclable box.”

Their criteria include selling trees that have been sustainably grown in the UK, taking deliveries every day to dispatch to customers and the tree must have the ‘correct proportions’.

It’s important too that the trees being bought online are healthy and long-lasting and Tom says his firm cuts the bottom of the trunk to open the stems to help the tree hydrate when it is placed in a water stand.

He adds that they sell only Nordmann firs because they have non-drop rounded needles that are safe for pets and children. They also have a traditional shape and soft festive fragrance.

Watch a Croft & Cole Christmas tree being reviewed on TV’s This Morning.

 

What should you look for when picking a real Christmas tree?

Here are some tips on buying a Christmas tree online:

• Use a reputable supplier

It’s important that to enjoy the online buying process for a Christmas tree, that you use a reputable supplier. By doing so, the online retailer will be providing a quality tree that will be fresh and lush. It should also have a beautiful shape.

• Have a freshly cut Christmas tree

It’s important that the retailer guarantees that they will be supplying a freshly cut tree. This will bring the maximum lifespan that you are wanting to enjoy.

• Enjoy a reliable and fast delivery service

The online retailer of Christmas trees should have in place a reliable and fast delivery service for their goods. Most online tree retailers will offer a range of dates for you to select and will have a fresh Christmas tree boxed and delivered to your home.

Don’t forget too, that another big bonus of ordering a Christmas tree online is that you won’t have to struggle getting your tree into your car or tying it to the roof!

 

Sourcing an online Christmas tree supplier

Among the most popular sites for buying fresh trees for the festivities is ChristmasTrees.co.uk and the owner Mark Rofe says the site’s aim is ‘to source the most beautiful, long-lasting trees and deliver them fresh to your door at your convenience’.

He told us: “We source our Christmas trees from Christmas tree farms based in Scotland and then sell them online and deliver them to anywhere in the UK mainland.”

His tips for when you order your tree online include:

• Where do you plan on putting your Christmas tree?

Some types of Christmas tree are better suited to an indoor environment, while others are more suited to being placed outdoors. If you’re looking to place your tree outdoors, then you should consider a Norway Spruce Christmas tree, this is the species of tree that is put up in Trafalgar Square each year. However, if you are looking to place your Christmas tree indoors, you should avoid the Norway Spruce, because it doesn’t typically last long indoors.

• How much space do you have?

You should also consider how much space you will have when selecting your type of tree. As a rule of thumb, a Christmas tree is about half as wide as it is tall. So, you can expect a 6ft Christmas tree to be approximately 3ft wide. If you have a small area to place your tree, then you could consider a Fraser fir Christmas tree because its slim shape is ideal for compact spaces.

• Personal Preference

Choosing your tree also comes down to personal preference too, this can be from the shape of the tree, the colour, foliage, smell, to how long you want it to last. The most popular Christmas tree in the UK is the Nordmann fir, which is known for its needle retention. However, for something more exotic looking you could opt for a Korean Fir tree which occasionally has cones on its branches, or a Blue Spruce tree, which as its name suggests has slightly blue foliage.

 

Household names offering online Christmas trees

Along with buying Christmas trees online from dedicated suppliers, you can still opt to buy from household name providers too – and have them delivered to your door.

Among the retailers selling Christmas decorations and a real tree online include:

• B&Q

The popular chain has real and potted Christmas trees available, and these can be ordered for home delivery. A potted Christmas tree is ideal if you want to enjoy your tree for the festive season – and into the New Year.

• Wilco

Probably not the first retailer that springs to mind when offering an online range of Christmas trees, but they usually have a range of Nordmann fir trees to enjoy. Sizes range from 5 feet to 8 feet with a pre-order facility available.

• John Lewis

A popular retailer for real Christmas trees to order online is John Lewis. They will have three different varieties of Christmas trees to order online including the Fraser fir and ever-popular Nordmann fir. They will also have the impressive Korean fir available.

• Homebase

The popular retailer is selling freshly cut Christmas trees and living potted trees that can be decorated all year round or planted in a garden. Only the freshly cut trees will be available for delivery.