Holiday Recipe For A Fire Retardant Christmas Tree
“Compliments of the Burn Institute”
INGREDIENTS
• 2 gallons of hot water
• 2 cups clear karo syrup
• 2 ounces liquid chlorine bleach
• 2 pinches of Epsom salts
• one half-teaspoon borax
• one teaspoon Chelated Iron (Can be purchased from a garden shop)
1. Place water in bucket and add all ingredients. Stir until all ingredients are
completely dissolved and then set aside.
2. Make a fresh, level cut, 3-inches from the trunk of the tree.
3. Stand the trunk of the tree in the solution for 24-hours.
4. Place your tree in a tree stand that contains a well for liquid. Keep the
solution.
5. When the tree is in its final place, use a plastic cup to pour the solution
from the bucket into the tree well. Fill the well.
6. Every day, “top up” the well of the tree with the left over solution.
The Karo Syrup provides the sugar necessary to allow the base of the tree to take up water. Up to 1.5 gallons of water can be taken up by the tree over a 2-week period. Boron in the Borax allows the tree to move water and sugar out to every branch and needle in the tree. Magnesium compounds in the Epsom salts and iron from the Chelated Iron provide components for the production of chlorophyll to help keep the tree green. The bleach prevents mold from forming in the solution. Some of the other beneficial side effects of this recipe are that the needles will not drop, and you notice an increase in natural evergreen fragrance.
For more fire and burn prevention safety tips, visit the
Burn Institute online at www.burninstitute.org