Gardeners World Christmas tree Six popular varieties of christmas tree are put through their paces by Martin Fish (with a little help from his family), so you'll know what to buy

Reproduced from the December 06 issue of Gardeners' World magazine. This month's issue on sale now. Subscribe now by direct debit and save 25 per cent.

If you want your Christmas tree to keep up its magical display and are fed up with your carpet becoming a sea of fallen needles, you just need to pick the right one.

We always have a real tree in our house, because we love the atmosphere it creates. But we can never agree on which type to go for (there are so many on the market these days), and it usually ends up looking a bit bare by the end of the festive season.

So, last Christmas we tried out six of the most popular types of tree - yes, all at the same time - in a quest to discover which performs best. Follow my guide to help you make the right choice this year.

How we judged the Christmas trees

We marked each tree out of 100, awarding up to 20 points for each of the following:

Needle drop Even needle-retaining trees drop some of their spikes
Overall tree shape This varies, depending on the type of tree and whether it's trimmed
Colour Ranging from light green through to blue/green
Scent We tested whether room warmth would activate the tree's scent
Ease of decorating The effect of the needles' size and shape

Blue spruce (Picea pungens Glauca Group)
£20 for 1.5m tree*

blue spruce christmas tree Originally from the Rocky Mountains of Wyoming and Colorado, this is a tough tree. Although it had a good shape, it looked a little sparse and hiding the lighting wire was tricky.

We felt that to make the tree look full, twice the number of baubles would be needed. Decorating was slightly hazardous because we kept catching our hands on the sharp needles. But, on the plus side, this tree did have the strongest 'pine' scent of them all, and the boughs drooped very little.

Be aware this is not a tree to have in a home with small children. We had to tuck ours in a corner well away from visitors, because the short stiff needles were extremely sharp. It also had one of the greatest needle losses, and these were difficult to pick up as they got stuck in the carpet.

Verdict: Our least favourite due to the sparseness and hazardous nature of the needles.

Needle drop 8/20
Shape 15/20
Colour 15/20
Scent 18/20
Ease of decoration 2/20
Overall 58/100

Fraser fir(Abies fraseri)
£25 for 1.5m tree*

Fraser fir Christmas tree A fairly recent addition to Britain's choice of Christmas trees, the Fraser fir is popular in the eastern US and originates in North Carolina and Virginia.

The mid-to-dark-green needles are soft, wide and flat, with very little scent. The quite dense branches covered wires easily, and there were plenty of boughs towards the top.

Its appearance is similar to the Nordman, but it's not as wide at the bottom - so, great if space is limited. The tree often has a crooked leader, but this is the way that it grows naturally and it will add to its character.

It drank the least amount of water, with little needed after the first two days. By the end, there was moderate needle loss and branches drooped a little. This tree kept its colour best through our trial period.

Verdict: A good all-rounder that held its colour well, with a shape ideal for smaller areas. christmas tree needle drop

Needle drop 15/20
Shape 18/20
Colour 18/20
Scent 10/20
Ease of decoration 18/20
Overall 79/100

ivillage uk

Christmas trees: Tried and tested

How we judged the Christmas trees