# Christmas tree water

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-tree-water/217872>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 9, 2003, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-tree-water/217872 "2003-12-09T06:53:04Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Aceospades](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Aceospades](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aceospades)\
**Post date:** [December 9, 2003, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-tree-water/217872/1 "2003-12-09T06:53:04Z")

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What common household items can I add to water so that my Christmas tree lasts longer?

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**Author:** ![myles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/779978/32.png) [@myles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/myles)\
**Post date:** [December 9, 2003, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-tree-water/217872/2 "2003-12-09T07:01:53Z")

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nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium—the major elements necessary for plant growth—and various trace, or minor, elements such as sulfur, magnesium, and calcium.

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**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\
**Post date:** [December 9, 2003, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-tree-water/217872/3 "2003-12-09T07:07:25Z")

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A cup of sugar added to a gallon of warm water. You don’t need anything else.

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**Author:** ![Aceospades](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Aceospades](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aceospades)\
**Post date:** [December 9, 2003, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-tree-water/217872/4 "2003-12-09T14:44:16Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Duckster \*  
> \*\*A cup of sugar added to a gallon of warm water. You don’t need anything else. \*\*

does this work for flowers also. sometimes when i buy my wife a bequay(sp) of flowers it comes with a little packet of power. is this packed just suger? can i use it for my morning coffie?😕

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**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\
**Post date:** [December 9, 2003, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-tree-water/217872/5 "2003-12-09T17:11:44Z")

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Bouquet

And no, it isn’t just sugar, at least not the ones I’ve seen. They tend to be minerals as mentioned above, possibly with a bit of sugar mixed in for volume.

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**Author:** ![herman\_and\_bill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f1d935/32.png) [@herman\_and\_bill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/herman_and_bill)\
**Post date:** [December 9, 2003, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-tree-water/217872/6 "2003-12-09T17:35:37Z")

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The tree is already dead, I don’t see how it would benefit from any minerals. Just give it plenty of water to keep it from drying out.

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**Author:** ![Miabella](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ccd318/32.png) [@Miabella](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miabella)\
**Post date:** [December 9, 2003, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-tree-water/217872/7 "2003-12-09T18:42:52Z")

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The place where we get our tree recommends you mix up your own preservative with 1/2 cup Karo syrup, 1 teaspoon of chlorine bleach and 1 quart of warm water. Top off the stand daily with more mixture.