The appropriate time to put up your Christmas tree is a question almost as divisive as whether Yorkshire pudding has a place on the Christmas dinner plate. Some might feel the best time is just after Bonfire Night, others may think Christmas Eve is more apt, and most will probably plump for somewhere in between.

Tesco started selling Christmas trees at half-price this week and said more than 90% of its trees had sold out by the end of November last year.

Lidl and some other retailers are also launching their ranges next week, while others including Dobbies Garden Centres are waiting until the last week of November.

But with Christmas Day still six weeks away, is it unwise to rush into buying a real tree so early? And do you risk spending your Christmas week cleaning up piles of pine needles?

Probably, says Mick Walker, from Bolton Christmas Trees, which grows trees in the Scottish Highlands before sending them to homes across the UK.

“It might last until the beginning of Christmas, but it won’t last the full holiday,” he warns. “Unless its a potted one, it’s going to be sagging by Christmas Day – big time.”

He calls Tesco’s half-price deal “insane”, adding that it’s “sucking them into buying something now that isn’t going to do the job”.

So when would he suggest is the best time? “If it was me, I’d put it up a week before Christmas eve, [and it will] last straight through until New Year.”

According to the Royal Horticultural Society, cut Christmas trees should usually last about four weeks with the right care – although some retailers suggest their trees can last between four and six weeks.

Tesco told the BBC its range includes both cut firs as well as potted spruces and firs, but that all its trees have care instructions on the labels that should “keep them looking their best right up until Christmas Day”.

They encourage any customer who buys a product they aren’t happy with to return it to the store.

Walker has some practical tips to keep your tree looking good for as long as possible this Christmas.

“Keep watering it, spraying the leaves, keeping it cool, keeping it away from radiators in the coolest spot in the room,” he says.

In addition to Walker’s tips, Forestry England also recommends giving your tree’s trunk a trim when you get it home. Sawing off around half an inch (1.2cm) from the base will rid your tree of any hardened sap, allowing it to absorb more water, it says.

And have you heard the one about using cola or corn syrup in the base to help keep your tree alive? It’s a myth, tree experts say.

“Your beautiful tree just wants a constant supply of fresh water – it’s that simple,” Forestry England states on its website, external.

Forester Richard Cooper, from Forestry England, tells the BBC that keeping a cut tree outside in a shaded area might help prolong its life. However, he adds: “It depends how keen you are to get it up and decorated.”

Keeping a potted tree outside and bringing it indoors for Christmas each year is also an option if you have the outdoor space, he says.

But trees in pots should be brought indoors “as late as possible – the weekend before Christmas is ideal”, advises the RHS.

“Do not keep living trees in the house any longer than 12 days but be guided by the tree. If it looks unhappy, put it back outside.”

The most popular Christmas trees available in the UK are the Nordmann fir variety, which are non-drop, meaning they don’t drop their needles. Norway Spruce is another common variety and have a strong pine scent, but generally should be kept outdoors or put up just before Christmas.

Pine trees, Walker says, have the longest lifespan, but he concedes they lack that classic Christmas look.

Or, of course, you could opt for a tried-and-tested artificial tree, which is what Katie McDonald from Belfast put up in her house last week.

“When I was a kid my mum always waited to the last minute to let us kids put the tree up. We would be the last house on our street and the last of all our friends to get the tree up,” she tells the BBC.

“So I made myself a wee childlike promise that when I had my own house I’d be one of the first to put my tree up.”

She says she will replace her artificial tree with a real one in a few weeks, so it is in prime condition come Christmas Day.

Meanwhile, Steve Chapman, from Merseyside, told the BBC the festive season for his family is all about traditions, and while his kids wouldn’t settle for just 12 days of Christmas, “it’s certainly not two months of Christmas”.

His family always try to avoid the urge to decorate too soon, so in the first week of December they head down to a local farm that grows Christmas trees. They will select one from the field and have it delivered the same day.

“There is nothing better than the smell of a real tree at Christmas,” Steve says.