I am not crafty — I don’t even dabble in floral arrangement — but I found Shelley Steeves’ segment on wreath-making fascinating. Shelley interviewed Nancy Secord, who works at the Yuletide Tree Lot in New Brunswick.

Nancy revealed that Balsam fir needles and branches need to harden off with a few good frosts before you can you can harvest them. “Because when you go out to go tipping you need to be able to snap the ends off,” says Nancy.

I never heard the term tipping before and I hadn’t connected weather with harvesting balsam fir tips for wreaths. I was hooked. I wanted to know more.

Tipping is the term commonly used to harvest the tips of balsam fir. But research on the web revealed that it’s more than snap factor involved in the hardening process.

A couple days of hard frost “sets” the needles, which means the needles’ pores are sealed with a waxy coating. Premature collection — before needle set — causes the balsam fir tips to quickly lose their needles after harvesting.

And a few good frosts feel so subjective. What constitutes a good frost? Luckily I found some objective standards. The Maine Christmas Tree Association suggests collecting balsam fir after November 1 and only after a minimum of three consecutive 20 degree Fahrenheit or colder nights (that’s a metric minus 7 degree Celsius).

So now I know. Good “hardening” numbers that we all can use!

Bonus for the crafty gardeners!

Step by step instructions to make a  Balsam Christmas wreath