Flocked vs. Unflocked Christmas Tree: Which One to Buy

Choose flocked if you want the tree to look wintry before the first ornament goes on. The white branches carry the look on their own, so warm lights and a few ornaments are enough.

Choose unflocked if you want the tree that asks the least of you. Green branches go with any color scheme, nothing comes off on your hands at setup, and you can pack the tree away without worrying about the finish.

If you are still torn, think about where the tree will stand. A flocked tree does best out of the way of busy walkways, where people won't brush the branches all season. In a tight hallway or entry, a plain green tree is the easier choice.

Flocking is a white coating applied to the branches so they look dusted with snow. It can be light, with plenty of green showing, or heavy, with the branches mostly white.

Unflocked simply means the tree has no coating: no artificial snow, just green foliage.

White tips are a third look. Our 6 ft tree with snow-dusted tips has white-painted tips and 61 pinecones rather than flocking, so the branches stay green with a wintry edge. Flocking is not only for green trees, either: we also carry a 7 ft flocked pencil tree in pink.

Yes, a little. Expect some loose white particles when you unpack and shape the tree, and a few more when you pack it away. The amount depends on the coating and on how much the branches are handled.

Lay an old sheet under the tree before you start. Spread the tips once and gently, and avoid shaking the branches to fluff them. Where you can, hold the branch farther in rather than the snowy tip. Once the tree looks right, leave it alone for the season.

Skip hair spray, glue and spray-on snow. They can change the color and finish of the coating.

A few loose particles are normal. Large bare patches are not, and a tree that arrives that way falls under our return policy for damaged items.

White branches change how decorations read. Ornaments stand out against them, so a flocked tree usually needs fewer than a green one.

Warm white is the usual choice of light, and most of our pre-lit flocked trees use it. If you want color as well, three of ours switch between warm white and multicolor: the slim tree, the 7.5 ft frosted tree and the 7.5 ft tree with a remote and timer.

There is a practical reason to buy a flocked tree pre-lit. Winding a string of lights around an unlit tree means rubbing against every branch, and rubbing is what loosens flocking. If you choose an unlit flocked tree, lay the lights on slowly instead of pulling them tight.

On a plain green tree none of this matters. It takes any light color, any palette and as many ornaments as the branches will hold.

A little, on narrow trees. Among our pencil trees, the flocked ones run about 1 to 5 in wider than plain ones of the same height. At 6 ft, the plain tree is 21.75 in across and the flocked ones are 23.5 and 26.75 in. At 7 ft, the plain tree is 21.75 in and the flocked green one is 22.8 in.

That is not a rule for every shape. Our 7 ft flocked slim tree is 30.3 in across, narrower than our plain 7 ft slim tree at 33.9 in. At 7.5 ft, our flocked curved-branch tree and our plain Nordmann fir both measure 49.2 in.

Branch tips vary the same way, so compare the numbers on the tree you want. Our flocked 6 ft pencil tree has more tips than the plain one, 492 against 390, while at 7 ft the plain tree has more, 499 against 405.

Check the height in inches as well. Our flocked slim tree runs a little short, at 70.8 in for the 6 ft size and 82.8 in for the 7 ft size. For ceiling and floor measurements, see our guide to what size Christmas tree you need.

Often, because flocking adds a material and a step to making the tree. Among our trees it depends on the size and the foliage.

At 7 ft, our plain pencil tree is under $50 and our flocked one is under $100. At 6 ft, the plain and flocked pencil trees both come in under $50, and the pre-lit pair both under $100.

At 7.5 ft, the foliage matters more than the flocking. Our plain Nordmann fir has molded PE tips and costs more than our 7.5 ft flocked trees.

Setup is the same on both kinds: the sections go together, then you spread and shape the tips by hand. Allow about 25 to 40 minutes on our 6 ft flocked pencil tree and about 45 to 60 minutes on a 7.5 ft flocked full tree. Our 6 ft pre-lit flocked pencil tree is quicker, at about 15 to 20 minutes, because its branches drop into place.

None of our trees is sold for outdoor use, flocked or plain.

Most orders arrive within about 8 business days, so allow for that if you want the tree up the weekend after Thanksgiving.

Keep flocked branches dry. Don't spray, wipe or rinse them, and keep vacuum attachments, hair dryers and compressed air away from them. If the branches look clean, leave them alone. Wipe the stand on its own with a dry cloth, and check the manual that comes with your tree before you clean anything else.

At the end of the season, take ornaments off one at a time instead of pulling them across the branches. Our flocked trees come apart in sections, and most of the stands fold.

The main risk in storage is crushing. Use a box or bag with room to spare, because a tree forced into a tight fit is pressed hard at every tip. Keep it somewhere cool and dry with nothing heavy on top. Reuse the original box only if it is clean, sound and big enough without forcing.

A plain green tree is more forgiving. A soft cloth takes nothing off it, and a tight box costs you only a little extra shaping next year.

Each pair below is the same height, plain first. Width is the diameter across the widest branches.

For a narrow corner and your own lights, start with our 7 ft flocked pencil tree, 22.8 in across with 405 tips.

For a narrow corner with lights built in, the flocked slim tree comes in 4, 6 and 7 ft, from 17 to 30.3 in across, with warm white or multicolor LEDs.

For the center of a room, our curved-branch tree at 7.5 ft is 49.2 in across with 1,201 tips and 350 warm white LEDs.

For a high ceiling, our Fraser fir-style flocked tree goes up to 9 ft, 55.1 in across with 1,852 tips and 600 warm white LEDs.