The soft glow of lights on outside trees creates a welcoming atmosphere! It doesn’t matter whether you’re decorating for the holidays or just improving the ambiance of your outside area.
Trees, including evergreens, deciduous trees, palms, and yucca may all benefit from outdoor string lighting.
Often, bare-leaf trees, particularly horizontal-spreading kinds, are great for hanging lights.
This post compiled how to string lights on trees outdoors and the tools you will need.
Let’s get started!
How to String Lights on Trees Outdoors?
1. Tools You Will Need:
To get started, here’s what you’ll need:
- Ladder.
- Extension cords for outdoor use.
- A piece of cardboard (optional).
- Strands of lights for the outside environment.
- Tape for plants or twine (optional).
2. Step-By-Step Guide:
With outdoor electronics, safety is the single thing you can’t afford to get wrong, so we’ll start there:
Step 1: Selecting lights that can be used outside is the first stage in the process
This is fortunate since a huge majority of hanging tree lights fit into this category. Most string lights are ideal for outdoor usage, however, other string lights are specifically for inside trees.
If you’re concerned about shocks or fires, seek for lights and extension cords with GFCI (ground-fault circuit-interrupter) protection.
Step 2: Selecting Trees for Illumination
You may choose the tree or trees that you want to light up. Start with a focal point that blends in with the rest of your environment.
In an ideal world, it would also have a unique shape and graceful branches that would be particularly eye-catching at night.
Branches and limbs may take on a beautiful quality at night when they are illuminated by glittering lights.
Bigger trees are more impressive, but they need a lot of lights to make them shine.
Decide how many lights you can afford or have access to before purchasing a large tree that doesn’t have a lot of decorations on it.
Step 3: Use a sturdy ladder and always have a friend nearby in the event of an accident
Even if you know how to string lights on trees outdoors, you might still make a mistake.
It’s all about selecting the correct lights for your trees, yard, and preferences now that you know what you’re looking for!
You may choose from large spheres of light, stars or snowflakes, or simple light bulbs with or without lampshades to decorate your home.
String lights may also be used instead of tying them to the tree. The majority of these options are just subjective.
If you want to use the lights for outdoor meals, social events, etc., you should use bigger lights.
Step 4: Keep the lights from being hung too high.
Their light will be diminished, hanging them will be more difficult, and whatever real lighting effects they may have will be wiped out by this.
When it comes to year-round illumination, white lights are the way to go.
For the holidays, multi-colored lighting is a popular choice.
Step 5: Place the lights on the branches that are the thickest and strongest.
Stringing lights on outdoor trees is as easy as it seems, according to this guide.
Because we’re talking about string lights and not tying them to the tree, wind may easily harm them.
So, it’s a good idea to hang them in a tighter position and on many branches.
How Many String Lights to Wrap a Tree Trunk?
Indoor christmas trees should be covered with at least 100 lights per vertical foot, and you may want to purchase more light strings if you don’t have enough.
If you don’t utilize all of your light strings now, you may save them for a time when you’ll need them.
For a clean appearance, try to hide the light cables as much as possible while wrapping indoor Christmas trees.
For the most attractive and equal light distribution, wrap branches from the tree’s core out rather than ringing the tree’s outside perimeter with lights.
With a 4-bulb spacing, you can get the most light while using the least amount of cable.
The wire should be wrapped around branches at a 6″ or 8″ spacing to provide a tight fit.
Lights should be strung starting at the top and working their way down toward the ground. It is possible to connect the plug’s female end with a tree topper.
5 Outdoor Tree Lighting Ideas
1. Decorate the Trees with Fairy Lights:
You can completely alter a tree in your yard with only a few strings of fairy lights or bulbs.
It’s gorgeous from every perspective, especially from the windows next door.
Perfect for livening up barren branches in winter, it would also provide a nice dose of atmosphere to new green foliage in the summer.
2. Make Your Outdoor Living Space More Cozy:
The outdoor theater is framed by subtle lighting that highlights trees and greenery on the boundaries.
The pleasant environment is cocooned by a warm light that perfectly blends the inside and outside.
3. Illuminating Potted Trees
It’s a gorgeous addition to our patio lighting designs and will immediately improve your front porch.
With the LED lights tied to a wire net, it’s a breeze to re-create the effect.
A simple drape of it over your olive tree, box balls, or other prized topiary will provide a warm greeting every time you return to your house.
The ones seen above run on batteries, so there’s no need to bother about running new lines.
4. Hang a Slew of Candles Together to Create an Ethereal Atmosphere:
Using a lot of lights may give a room a dramatic impact.
This is excellently shown in the image above, as swarms of lanterns create an ethereal atmosphere.
If you’re concerned about the risk of fire, use LED candles instead of actual candles.
If you’re looking for a method to spruce up an otherwise drab backyard, this is a fantastic option.
Having a plug outlet is clearly more convenient, but solar-powered and battery-powered are excellent alternatives if you don’t.
5. Uplights Can Make A Difference:
Adding flood lights or lights at the base of your favorite trees may provide a feeling of grandeur to your outdoor lighting.
Large plots will benefit greatly from the architectural influence this will have on their structure and features.
If you want to leave a lasting impression on visitors, choose the most conspicuous trees for your driveway.
Conclusion
Don’t follow the adage, “A little goes a long way,” when deciding how many lights or strands of lights to use. This isn’t the right situation for it.
Depending on the trunk’s size, each wrap might consume up to 30 lights.
And a tree that is just half-wrapped doesn’t appear like it’s ready for Christmas.
Lights should be budgeted and planned for properly.
