Head Gardener Neil Miller’s Christmas Tree Advice

Christmas tree hever castle
November 08 2023 | Castle Garden What's on

Neil’s top tips for your best Christmas tree yet

Most of us only have to put up one Christmas tree, but Head Gardener Neil Miller has over 200 to deal with each year!

Thankfully Neil says putting up hundreds of festive firs is a highlight of his job at Hever.

The Christmas trees are delivered from Hole Park at Rolvenden. They are placed on the trail, in the grounds, in the Castle, the restaurants and offices.

As the trees are put up and decorated in November they need to last so Neil gives his tips for longevity.

Neil’s top Christmas Tree tips:

  1. The trees are all cut and come without root balls, but as they have to last until after Christmas itself, we make sure that there’s a reservoir of water for them all. We are lucky in the main that most of our trees will be displayed outdoors so they look fantastic for a long period of time.
  2. Say you’re going for a cut tree this year then the best tip I can give you is to leave it outside for as long as you possibly can. If you are buying a tree with a root ball then the same rule applies – I know of people who leave them outside in their pot until Christmas Eve and only bring them in hours before Santa is due to arrive.
  3. If you want to buy a pot-grown tree then make sure you choose one with a really healthy root ball that’s been wrapped in burlap. It’s even more important to keep your tree well-watered while it’s indoor so that it doesn’t dry out. Stand the tree somewhere cool indoors – beside your patio window is a better spot than beside the fire!

See full details for the Christmas event