Outdoor Christmas tree: tips and advice

An outdoor tree is usually very large, is not always in the position one would like it to be in and sometimes places limits on the desired decoration.

However, once properly decorated, it is uniquely beautiful and makes everything around it shine like never before, leaving neighbours and passers-by speechless.

Consider that an outdoor tree needs fewer decorations than an indoor tree. A nice light string is sufficient to illuminate it festively.

The size of the tree is sometimes daunting because one thinks about how much the installation may cost in terms of time and money.

Modular light strings for large installations

Modular outdoor light strings come to your aid, allowing you to achieve great lengths with segments of 10, 5 and 4 metres. These light strings are easily extended and connected in seconds, thanks to the connectors at their ends.

Examples of this are our professional PML and PL24V series, or the simpler and cheaper Smart Connect series.

You can do it yourself without the help of an electrician, but that's not all! If an LED burns out or a cable gets damaged, replacement is much easier and immediate because it only concerns a short section of string. You don't have to dismantle everything and do the installation all over again.

Some series are also accompanied by outdoor lighting accessories such as extensions and multiconnectors, which are particularly valuable in non-linear arrangements. When decorating the branches of a plant, you can use the multiconnector to obtain several branches, which are useful for moving nimbly from one point to another on the branches or trunk.

Sometimes it is preferable to use professional lights, with rubber cables and resin-coated LEDs, which offer fewer choices but are safer and more durable. They are preferred in coastal and mountainous areas and, in general, in all those usage contexts where continuous exposure to the elements wears down decorations more quickly.

We suggest you read our post that delves deeper into the contexts where we believe the use of professional light sets is necessary.

How many lights for an outdoor tree?

Outdoor trees are usually decorated with lights only, which for the occasion must be as intense, dense, and bright as possible. They are often very tall, sometimes reaching up to 15/20 meters in height. How many lights are needed to decorate them?

It is possible to establish a basic principle for calculating the ideal quantity of lights, proportional to the height of the Christmas tree.

This is an estimate; the resulting value can then vary depending on the spacing between the turns of the string.

If in a small or medium-sized tree, you maintain a spacing of about 10/15 centimeters, in a very large tree, you keep a greater distance. This results in an equally satisfying luminous effect.

Also, consider that if you decorate the tree in a spiral pattern, you will need hundreds of meters of cable; it's different if you opt for draping the lights from the top to the bottom. In this case, the number of light strands and the required budget decrease significantly: you will need only a few chains that you will connect to a multi-connector placed at the top of the tree.

This year, do you prefer to settle for a small tree in the living room? Discover how to decorate an indoor tree to bring light and magic into the home.