To cut down your own Christmas tree, to buy it from a lot or to unpack it from a box in your attic are three options many face around Thanksgiving. The first two end with revelers taking the tinsel and lights off the tree and dragging it to the curb sometime near the start of the new year. Not exactly environmentally friendly; chopping down a tree and then tossing it in a landfill. The third option, an artificial tree, is not always the chicest option and many complain it just isn’t the same as a real tree.
Well, what if there was no dead tree to haul away? A living tree will be around long after the ornaments are packed up. And it can be used for several years depending on how quickly it grows and whether it is replanted outside in the spring.
Here are tips and ideas to consider when buying a living tree this holiday season.
- Pick a tree that grows well in the climate of the location where you reside. In the Rocky Mountain region, that includes blue spruce, noble fir, Douglas fir or ponderosa or Austrian pines. Almost any native conifer will have hardy roots.
- Trees come in two varieties: living Christmas trees and landscape-grade trees, either in containers or with balled roots. Decide whether the tree will be used for the holidays for several years, thus living in a pot for a while, or whether you will be planting it in your yard as soon as the weather permits. Does it need to co-ordinate with the existing landscape design?
- Acclimatize your tree: Leave it in a garage for at least a week before and a week after using it as home décor. From a heated living room to the back patio is huge adjustment! Also, consult garden specialists, since the stay indoors may fool some trees into moving into their springime behaviour, which may mean they can`t later be planted outdoors.
- Water regularly and keep the tree away from heat sources to prevent it from drying out. (As with a cut tree.)
- When replanting, water regularly and do not place the tree in direct sunlight. You can wait until spring to replant. (Necessary if you live somewhere where the ground freezes.) Keep the tree in the nursery container for the first year. Cover the base in mulch and fertilize it during the growing season.
- If you choose not to replant, you can use the same container tree for four to seven years, depending on how fast it grows.
For more detailed information, contact your local nursery.
