Christmas Trees

This is the time of year for heading to the bush or Christmas tree farm to cut the Christmas tree. It takes a lot of time and effort to find just the perfect tree. We haul it home to decorate it yet only to have to discard it in a couple of weeks at best. Others head to their local nursery or temporary Christmas tree booth to get their trees only to suffer the same fate.

So what does this have to do with gardening? Consider this year instead of buying a tree that will ultimately be discarded or a best burned in the woodstove, of buying a potted tree. You can buy them in larger sizes or for smaller homes consider a Norfolk Pine. These trees will keep giving back for years to come not only for your landscaping but also for bird shelter and the environment. Simple care for indoors until spring then plant outdoors. There are a few tips I would like to share if you decide to go this method.

When choosing a potted evergreen, consider where you want to plant it later if you will be planting. I've already mentioned the Norfolk Pine for smaller spaces and this tree will grow happily in a pot indoors so you could use the tree for several holiday seasons. If planting outdoors later, make sure you consider how big an evergreen can get. Leave plenty of room for growth. Choose a spot where a larger evergreen will not shadow your vegetable or sun loving flower beds garden. Ideally choose a location where you wil benefit from house shading in the summer or wind break in the winter. Once you have picked out your living Christmas tree, try to bring it home on a relatively mild day and even then protect the branches from wind burn. Place the tree in a spot where heating vents will not be blowing on it. Lighting should be LED if at all possible not only for energy savings but to prevent any heat damage to the branches. Don't hang heavy decorations on tender branches as this may damage them. Other than that, decorate as normal. Keep watered and once the holiday season is over, remove lighting and decorations then treat as an indoor house plant until spring.

When planting, dig a hole twice the diameter of the tree a little deeper than the height of the pot. Place a bit of peat moss in the hole. Carefully remove the pot and lightly loosen the root ball. Place the root ball in the hole and cover with soil, mounding slightly above ground level. Water well. You may need to add stakes to keep the tree straight until established.

Now sit back and enjoy your new bit of landscaping while you decide where to plant next year's Christmas tree.

Happy Gardening

Garden Gnome
©2006