Fresh Christmas wreaths and garland

Most farms on the site sell wreaths from the same barn as the trees, often made on the farm from its own greens. Some take orders; a few sell out. These are the farms that publish a wreath price.

No farm near you? Every state page lists the farms that sell wreaths; look for “Wreaths” under What’s there. All Christmas tree farms by state.

Wreath making near you: farms with workshops

A wreath class at a tree farm is the easiest way to make your own: the farm supplies fresh greens by the armful, the frame and the wire, and someone shows you how to bind it. You go home with a wreath you made from greens cut that week. These farms on PickingHours run classes, parties or a wreath-building area this season.

Classes can fill up, so tap a farm’s name to see how to book. If your farm runs one and it isn’t here, tell us and we’ll add it.

The kind of green matters more than anything else you do afterwards. For a wreath that will hang indoors, University of Minnesota Extension recommends Fraser fir or balsam, which tend to stay fresh longer. Firs and white pine both hold their needles well; spruce drops them sooner than other conifers. Wreath greens are trimmed from the same trees farms sell whole, so our guide to the types of Christmas trees tells you how to tell them apart, and Fraser fir vs Douglas fir vs balsam compares the three most people choose between.

Cedar has one more catch: its small cones can shed pollen indoors, so keep it on the porch. Boxwood’s smell is worth testing before you hang it in a warm room. If scent is what you are after, see which Christmas tree smells best.

A wreath has no water supply once it is wired to its ring, so everything you do is about slowing how fast it dries out.

1. Soak it first. If the wreath has been sitting in a shop or a delivery box, lay it in a bathtub or a tub of cool water overnight, then let it drip dry before you hang it. Garland can have the same soak.
2. Hang it somewhere cool. Cold slows drying down. An outside door, a porch or a front window stays fresh far longer than a mantel over a fireplace.
3. Keep it out of sun and away from heat. Direct afternoon sun on a glass storm door, heat vents, radiators and fireplaces all dry greens fast. A wreath trapped between a front door and a storm door in full sun cooks.
4. Mist it. A light spray of water every few days helps an indoor wreath. Unplug any lights first.
5. Use an anti-transpirant if you want extra weeks. Sprays such as Wilt-Pruf coat the needles and slow water loss. Spray outdoors on a dry day, above freezing, and let it dry fully before the wreath comes inside.
6. Pick the right green. Fraser fir, balsam and boxwood outlast cedar and spruce (see the table above).

Lights: use LED strings, which run cool, and switch them off when you are out or asleep. Dry greens catch fire easily.

It is time to take it down when the needles feel brittle, come off in your hand, or the green has turned dull and greyish. A wreath that is going brown indoors is a fire risk, so don’t keep it past that point. Your tree dries out the same way, but it can drink, so it lasts longer: see how long a real Christmas tree lasts.

Fresh garland (farms often call it roping) is sold by the foot or in set lengths. It is the same greens as a wreath, bound onto a cord, and it needs the same care. These farms list their prices:

To work out how much you need, measure the run and add about a third for swags and drape. A front door frame usually takes 15–20 ft; a staircase banister takes about twice its length if you want loops.

How long does fresh pine garland last?

Outdoors in cold weather, pine and fir garland lasts the whole season. Indoors it is shorter, about two to three weeks for fir and pine in a cool room, and less for cedar or near heat. Soak it overnight before hanging, keep it away from heat vents and fireplaces, and mist it every few days. White pine wilts rather than dropping needles, so a soft, limp look is the sign it is drying out.

If there is no farm near you, or the wreath is a gift, you can have one shipped. Most mail-order wreaths are made in North Carolina (Fraser fir) or Maine (balsam), cut and wired within a few days of shipping, and sent in a box. Two things decide whether it arrives fresh:

• The ship date. Order early and pick a delivery date in early December, so it isn’t sitting in a warm porch box for days.
• What you do on arrival. Open the box the day it comes, soak or mist the wreath, and hang it somewhere cool.

Some farms on PickingHours take wreath orders ahead: Ochs Christmas Tree Farm in Galena, IL, and Brown’s Tree Farm in York, PA, where Pat Brown makes the wreaths and takes special orders by phone. For a whole tree delivered, see Christmas tree delivery.

If you can’t get to a class, a wreath is easy to make at a kitchen table in about an hour.

You need: a wire wreath ring (12–14 in for a door), a spool of paddle wire, sharp pruners, and an armful of boughs. Many farms sell or give away trimmed boughs from their tree lots; Dutch Cove Christmas Trees near Asheville is one that sells them.

1. Cut the boughs into pieces about 6–8 in long.
2. Gather 3–5 pieces into a small bunch.
3. Lay the bunch on the ring and wrap the stems tightly with wire two or three times.
4. Lay the next bunch so it covers the stems of the first, and wire it on. Keep going round, all in the same direction.
5. Tuck the last bunch under the first one, wire it, and twist the wire off at the back.
6. Add a wire loop for hanging, then a bow, cones or berries.

Mixing greens (fir as the base, a little cedar or boxwood for texture) gives the shop look. Soak the finished wreath as you would a bought one.

• University of Minnesota Extension, on choosing and caring for fresh holiday greens.
• Penn State Extension and Clemson Cooperative Extension HGIC, on holiday greenery care.
• NC State Extension, on Fraser fir wreaths and garland.
• Prices, class dates and order details: each farm’s own website, as shown on its PickingHours card, checked on the dates in the tables.

Nothing on this page is sponsored, and no farm pays to be listed. Products are named because readers ask about them. Farm details are read from each farm’s card on PickingHours, with the date we checked it.

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