Have you ever wished that your cut holiday tree would last longer? That your artificial tree had that delicious evergreen smell? There is a third possibility that has been growing over the years. Consider choosing a live holiday this year when you begin decorating for the season.
Why Use a Live Holiday Tree?
There are several advantages to choosing a live holiday tree over one that is cut or artificial. It is ecologically friendly in more than one way since a growing tree helps use up carbon dioxide and creates oxygen Using a tree that is not dead or fake helps keep more out of the landfills.
They are also aesthetically pleasing. Since it is still uncut, it will be much more vibrant than a cut tree that has been around for some time.
There is less of a fire hazard also since it has needles that are still green and alive. Do make sure you are watering them as needed to keep the foliage healthy.
Finally, you can have fun and choose less traditional options like Norfolk Island pine trees and palm trees.
Is There a Downside to A Live Holiday Tree?
For starters, you will need to have some muscles or a moving dolly to cart this type of tree around. After all, there is a large heavy ball of soil surrounding the roots in the container.
You also have to be careful with how long you keep one of these trees inside. They are normally dormant during this time of year, so extended periods inside where the temperatures are warmer can make it wake up and start producing growth. Once you take it back outside, the tree can go into shock and the new shoots may be damaged. Always use the practice of hardening off, where you reintroduce them to the outdoors over a period of time, with longer sessions each day, so that it can adapt.
Finally, you need to have a plan for what will happen to this tree once you are ready to remove it. There are companies that allow you to rent live holiday trees and will pick them up at the end of their time period. You could contact a local park or other garden and see if they would be interested in planting it. Otherwise, have a planting hole ready to go so you can easily add it to your landscape. If you wait until it is time to place it in the ground, the temperatures may have dropped and frozen the soil, making your task much more difficult.
Have you have a live holiday tree? What kind did you get?
Image by wlcutler under a Flickr Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
