How To Prune A Christmas Tree To Be Shorter So It Fits In Your Space

If you've just brought a Christmas tree home only to realize it's too tall to fit in your house, you're not the first one to make that mistake. It can be hard to estimate the height of a Christmas tree when you're purchasing it at an outdoor lot or Christmas tree farm. Don't despair: it's not difficult to cut a Christmas tree down to size to get it to fit in your living room. The key is to start from the bottom by cutting the trunk. It's a lot less work and lowers the risk of you ending up with a misshapen Christmas tree. Just be sure to do this work outside before bringing the tree indoors since this job can get messy. 

Christmas trees don't naturally grow into a perfectly conical shape. One of the reasons Christmas trees cost what they do is they are groomed over the course of an average of 15 years. It takes careful pruning to get the branches pleasingly and proportionally shaped. If you try to duplicate the task by trimming from the top and working your way down, not only will you have to trim each and every branch of the tree, but you're likely going to end up with an unevenly shaped tree with unsightly gaps that require you to resort to ornament hacks to make your tree look fuller. By cutting the trunk, you're far more likely to end up with a properly shaped tree that also now fits your home.

To cut your tree down to size, get out the handy tool you should have used when you initially went shopping for a Christmas tree: a tape measure. Measure the height of the room you want to place the tree in, then mark the trunk of the tree where you need to trim in order for it to fit in your home. Be sure to add an inch or two for the base which you'll be standing the tree in. Use pruning shears or a sharpened pruning saw to remove any branches in order to access the trunk.

Now you're ready to use a handsaw or chainsaw to cut the trunk down to the appropriate length. Cutting the trunk is also a good way to keep your tree fresh for longer. Unless your tree was freshly cut right before you brought it home, the trunk has likely now hardened due to its exposure to the air, making it harder for the tree to draw up water. A dry, thirsty tree will drop needles sooner than one that continues to take up water. Once you've cut your trunk, use your saw or sharpened pruning shears to trim back any bits that might prevent you from placing presents under the tree. While you have your pruners handy, you can remove any dead, dried, or misshapen branches; making sure you're not leaving unsightly gaps or unevenness in the tree. Next year, start your Christmas tree shopping by getting out the tape measure.