Our crash course in artificial Christmas trees began in 2016, when I visited a fake-tree-manufacturer’s New Jersey headquarters. Since then we’ve shopped for trees online and in person at several big-box stores, and we’ve tested various trees over the years. For the 2019 version of this guide, senior editor Harry Sawyers spoke with three major tree manufacturers to identify the latest offerings and track new developments in the fake-tree world. Reporting this story has confirmed that these products have a higher environmental cost than live trees, which is a concern for many, including me. I’ve been on Team Live Tree basically since birth, on a Christmas Day some years ago. It also has more lights (1,320 versus 750), creating an opulent display that our testers universally preferred.
Unlike the lights on all of our other picks, however, the ones on this tree are traditional incandescents, not LEDs, and they come only in clear. But if you prefer the warmer glow of incandescents, that’s a feature, not a bug. And even if one bulb burns out, the rest of the bulbs keep working (unlike with some incandescent Christmas lights). The King of Christmas 7-foot King Noble Flock Fir is a so-called Euro-style tree, with fewer, more naturalistic branches than you find on plump, symmetrical American-style trees.
As for run time and cutting ability, we have yet to find a property where a battery-powered trimmer falls short. The best of the battery models can slice through thick stalks of Japanese knotweed and can finish the work at large properties with plenty of battery charge to spare. We’re highlighting this model in particular because its lights (along with the branch-tip construction) are the same as those on our pick, the popular and widely appealing Downswept Douglas Fir. The lights have the same multiple colors and patterns (nine in total) that our staffers found so charming, including all-color, all-white, and the “sparkling” mode (some bulbs gently dim and rebrighten). Again, this tree has fewer of them (350 versus 750), but the Pencil Slim still looks fully lit because those lights are spread among a lot less foliage.
Like those on the Downswept Douglas Fir, the lights on this tree connect automatically via plugs within the trunk, and they too can switch between clear, color, or a mix of the two. We particularly appreciate that this tree’s base has wheels, a unique feature among our test group, because they make it much easier to move the tree into place and back into storage. The “flip” function simply tilts the lower section of the tree upright during setup, so you don’t have to lift it into place yourself; this is another welcome feature, since the tree weighs 78 pounds in total. Like the less expensive trees we tested, this one still requires you to put in some time arranging and perfecting it to make it look its best. But it delivers a level of fullness and realism that’s truly stunning.
You could use all-white for a more sophisticated look during a grown-up holiday party, for example, and use the multicolor mode when the mood is more festive. Or you could do something different from year to year so that the tree doesn’t seem like the same one every Christmas. And with 750 bulbs, the Downswept Douglas Fir meets our recommendation of 100 bulbs per foot of tree height. Fewer than that can look sparse, but the Downswept Douglas Fir’s lights are sufficient in number and evenly placed. Judging from all our years of testing and long-term use of string trimmers, we truly see no need for a homeowner to even consider a gas string trimmer. Cordless models are quieter, need practically no ongoing maintenance, start with the press of a button, emit no exhaust, and can “refuel” without requiring you to make a separate run to the gas station.
People often overlook the fact that they’ll need to store an artificial tree for 10 or 11 months out of the year, House of Holiday’s Larry Gurino pointed out. And, he added, lack of storage space is the main reason that city and apartment dwellers costway patio umbrellas favor live trees. (He also noted that when live trees get thrown out, they often become free mulch for public parks—in effect, they’re recycled.) So unless you have lots of storage room in your place, a live tree may make more sense.
Artificial trees have a significant environmental impact and can’t be recycled. So we decided to recommend only those models that you can reasonably expect to last for a decade or more because they’ll spread their impact out over time. For anyone to stick with a fake tree that long, it has to be impressive to start and then remain that way through annual wear and tear. The National Tree Company 7.5-foot Feel Real Downswept Douglas Fir Pencil Slim (PEDD4-392D-75) with Dual Color LED Lights is a great option for small spaces, such as a foyer or a compact apartment. It’s similar in construction to our top pick, the Downswept Douglas Fir, with a rich mix of realistic polyethylene branch tips and fake PVC filler branches. And it uses the same dual-color LED lights—only this tree has 350 bulbs, not 750, because there’s a lot less tree to cover.
It involves a twisting motion back and forth, with the arms acting as stabilizers. If you’re doing it really well, it’s not super physically demanding,” Miller told us. All of the cordless trimmers we looked at could cut regular costway patio umbrellas lawn grass, but we wanted one that also handled tall weeds or densely overgrown grass. Weaker trimmers strained in tougher conditions, either getting bound up in the grass or pushing it over instead of cutting it.