Tips to Help You Keep Your Arba Minim Fresh
For the benefit of the public, we present here several tips which will help keep your Arba Minim fresh. Over the days of Yom Tov especially when traveling with them from place to place — they may lose their hiddur, and in rare cases even become invalid.
Esrog:
An esrog should be kept in a box, in a shaded and cool place, wrapped in a sleeve or sponge to protect it from being bumped. Every esrog and especially a “water esrog” should be kept inside a plastic bag so that it does not shrivel and remains fresh. An esrog with a pitam should be handled gently so that the pitam does not fall off.
An esrog sealed tightly in a vacuum bag, hermetically, can theoretically remain kosher until next Sukkos (though it will become very yellow).
The Lulav Bundle:
Many suggestions have been offered for how to keep the lulav bundle fresh; wrapping in aluminum foil, wrapping in a slightly damp towel (too much moisture may cause mold at the wet spot). Most importantly, place the lulav, hadasim, and aravos in a cool, shaded place, or in the refrigerator. Keeping it in the sukkah under the blazing sun may cause it to dry out and wilt from the heat.
A highly recommended method is: Empty a bottle of window-cleaner spray, fill it with fresh water, and spray 10 light mists of water along the length of the lulav, hadasim, and aravos (but not on the koishikel, which may become moldy). Do this twice a day in the morning after the naʼanuim, and at night before sleeping - and seal the bundle tightly in a vacuum bag. With this method, even the aravos remain fresh and vibrant until Hoshanah Rabbah.
A similar solution: Tiny plastic vials filled with water, attached to the ends of the hadasim and aravos with a rubber stopper.
Hadasim
It is recommended to keep the hadas branches refrigerated. If one wishes to place the hadasim in a bucket of water, only the bottom tip of the branch should be in the water the leaves themselves should not be submerged; on the contrary, water causes them to fall off. It is advisable to trim a bit from the bottom end of the branch so that it absorbs water well.