Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Christmas

From present ideas to party food, find all your Christmas inspiration here.

Original poster

Help! My Christmas tree has started to smell. It's decomposing isn't it?

27 replies

Nevergoogle · 16/12/2009 21:57

Help.

I bought it on saturday from the forestry commission. It's in a pot, but doesn't have any water. I didn't think it would need it.

Now my living room smells like it's got a huge decomposing tree in the corner which we've lovingly decorated.

I don't remember this smell being part of my christmas childhood memories.

OP posts:
thisisyesterday · 16/12/2009 22:03

when you say it's in a pot do you mean it's cut, and sitting in a pot,. or it still has roots and is in a pot?

our potted (with rootball) one started to reek last year and it was because i'd watered it and the water in the tray had gone all manky

whomovedmychocolate · 16/12/2009 22:05

Do you have a cat. Our cat used to widdle on the tree every year....till the year he did it when the lights were already on

Original poster
Nevergoogle · 16/12/2009 22:06

it's cut and in a pot.

no cats.

OP posts:
LilySwalLoosHerTurkeyBaster · 16/12/2009 22:06

Surely it can't be decomposing already ?
Have had ours in water since last Thurs and can still smell new xmas tree ?

Original poster
Nevergoogle · 16/12/2009 22:07

it smells like the water in a vase after you've left flowers in too long.

there's no water though.

OP posts:
SleighGirl · 16/12/2009 22:10

err give it some water asap?

thisisyesterday · 16/12/2009 22:11

stupid question probably, but have you checked that there is no water?

i mean, could your dh/dp or one of the kids put water in it??

Original poster
Nevergoogle · 16/12/2009 22:17

The water would have had to go in before the tree. It's a big red pot with a bit in the middle that you grip the tree sort of vice-like.

Dh says it smells fine.

OP posts:
SleighGirl · 16/12/2009 22:21

but if you don't give it water it's going to decompose very quickly, arn't you supposed to give cut trees water?

bran · 16/12/2009 22:23

Give it some water with a couple of teaspoons of bleach in it. You shouldn't be able to smell that small a quantity of bleach but it will kill any nasty bacteria. (Trust me on this, I'm a florist's daughter.)

thisisyesterday · 16/12/2009 22:24

hmmm, bizarre, i wouldn't have thought the entire tree would just decompose- it'd just dry out really.

it must be something else you can smell I reckon

Original poster
Nevergoogle · 16/12/2009 22:24

I can only give it water by removing it from the stand/pot though.

OP posts:
Original poster
Nevergoogle · 16/12/2009 22:25

could there be a dead squirrel in it somewhere?

OP posts:
thisisyesterday · 16/12/2009 22:25

we never gave our tree water when i was a kid, and ours always lasted a good couple of weeks indoors

whomovedmychocolate · 16/12/2009 23:06

@ squirrel

Original poster
Nevergoogle · 17/12/2009 23:24

DH now agreeing with me that the tree has a pong.

OP posts:
misdee · 17/12/2009 23:35

water your tree

Original poster
Nevergoogle · 17/12/2009 23:38

eek! that is definitely not good.

OP posts:
Shinyshoes2 · 18/12/2014 14:59

I've just googled "my Christmas tree is rotting " and this came up
Horrah for mumsnet!!'
We have an awful rotting smell and the tree is the only thing I can think of it being
I've hunted high and low and there's no manly food anywhere
Could it be the tree ???
It's got plenty of water
I don't fancy taking the huge decorated tree from the base to look and clean from now til after bloody Christmas :-((
Its only been watered twice and we've had it 2 weeks , it doesn't seem to be drinking the water

Shinyshoes2 · 18/12/2014 15:00

Anyone else had/heard of this
And it's meant to say manky food not manly food Hmm

MrsIgglePiggle · 18/12/2014 16:05

Could a fox or a deer have urinated on it?

Shinyshoes2 · 18/12/2014 16:07

Nope , it's in the corner of my living room and has been for the last fortnight

ByeByePrivacy · 23/12/2017 00:43

I know it’s a zombie thread but goggles and my tree also smells like the rotting water when you’ve had flowers in a vase for too long.
Don’t know whether to just empty all the water and just let it dry or now, or add some bleach to the water. Never usually have this problem with trees, they last for months

fromtheshires · 23/12/2017 01:04

Zombie thread, zombie tree? Just a thought as it's dead and rotting. Be careful it doesn't start going for the living and remember if it does, aim for the head.

In all seriousness, has it just lost the nice pine smell and it is now it's more natural earthy smell with it being old. We have had cut trees outside a warehouse by us since mid November so assuming they were cut at least a few days before that the trees are almost a couple of months old now...

ByeByePrivacy · 23/12/2017 10:59

I will keep a sharp knife ready for the head, or where is a trees brain stem? Hopefully it will jingle a bit with all the bells on it before it goes full walker on me!

No it’s that smell you get when there are dead/rotting leaves left in the vase when you through out the flowers. This one has been crispy since we got it sadly, despite cutting the bottom and daily watering. So wondering now whether to through out the water and let it crisp.