With Thanksgiving complete, some local stores are beginning to stock Christmas trees and decorations, but a few basic tips may be necessary to prolong the life of your tree.

Rosa Bjelke, with Four Seasons Garden Center, said the center recently received its first shipment of Christmas trees and offered a few tips on selecting and maintaining trees.

“The first and most important thing is to start out with a good fresh tree,” she said. “It’s common for a tree to have a few loose needles. If you grab the end of a tree and it’s bendable and pliable, that means it’s healthy, but if it snaps it’s bad.”

Bjelke also suggested cutting the end of a Christmas tree one-half inch after its purchase. She said cutting the bottom of a tree allows it to absorb water better.

“After it sits for a few days in the store, it’s harder for it to take up water,” she said. “You have to get a fresh cut and then make sure to keep watering it.”

She said keeping the tree away from a heat source is also important.

If a tree begins shedding needles excessively, she said it might be time to cut the bottom again.

“A few needles is common, but once it starts shedding a lot, that is bad,” Bjelke said. “It may have just been cut too long.”

Personally, Bjelke said she prefers real trees.

“I think I prefer the real ones because of the realistic look and it smells good,” she said. “Some artificial trees look real, but some other ones just look like brushes.”