Replanting Christmas Trees

 

 

Why chop the trees for Christmas?  Replant them after New Year. Christmas trees can be replanted at public parks, private gardens, government land, businesses, churches, schools and forests.  Anyone can have a Living Christmas Tree, and this green tradition can spread.

 

Trees can be rented or sold and then after New Year, collected or dropped off at a collection site.  You can also plant your tree on your property.  This tradition of replanting trees can spread to any country in the world that uses trees for holiday decorations.

 

By: Albert Talker

 

 

References:

Issue # 129 - December/January 1992    www.motherearthnews.com

MOTHER'S CHRISTMAS SPECIAL

PLANTING A LIVE CHRISTMAS TREE: http://www.oldhouseweb.com/gardening/garden/03900108.shtml

The Original Living Christmas Tree Company: http://www.livingchristmastrees.org/

http://www.worldofchristmas.net/christmas-trees

Environmental issues

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_tree

 

 

Issue # 129 - December/January 1992

www.motherearthnews.com

MOTHER'S CHRISTMAS SPECIAL

REPLANTING YOUR CHRISTMAS TREE

 

 

This Christmas, enjoy your tree all year round!

IT ALWAYS SEEMS LIKE SUCH A SHAME TO throw out the lovely tree that meant so much to you during the holidays. But sometime after the Super Bowl and before Valentine's Day, your once spruced—up spruce inevitably must hit the curb before the last dried-up needle hits the floor.

Think there has to be a better way? There is: Purchase a living tree ... one with its roots intact in a burlap—wrapped ball of earth. Live evergreens not only remain beautiful throughout the season (unlike cut trees, which tend to dry out rapidly), but can be replanted once they've decked your halls. In addition to having a permanent, living reminder of Christmas past, you also get the benefit of improving the value of your property, establishing a new windbreak, or providing some welcome summer shade.

Transplanting success starts at the tree lot or nursery. Most tree experts agree that fir, spruce, and pine are all good candidates for post-holiday planting. Actually, almost any variety of tree—as long as its roots are wrapped in burlap—will adapt well to transplantation ... except hemlocks.

When choosing the actual tree, look for a healthy specimen with long, full branches and a large earth ball that's not frozen. We priced some nice five-foot trees from $30 to $70 (almost $20 more on average than comparable chopped cousins, but remember that you're getting something that will last a lifetime instead of just a few weeks).

Once you get your Christmas conifer home, you'll need to "break in" your tree by leaving it in a cool, slightly damp area (such as a garage or basement) for three or four days to lessen the shock of the transition from outdoors to in. During this interim, keep the root ball covered with straw, peat moss, or an old blanket.

When you're ready to carry the tree indoors, stand it in a large tub and pack sawdust, peat moss, or even shredded newspapers around the trunk to help hold it upright. An old cloth draped over the earth ball will help the roots retain moisture. To hide the tub and its contents, simply drape a decorative tree skirt over and around it.

Most horticulturists advise that you keep your living decoration in the house for only a week to 10 days—certainly no more than two weeks. Try to place it near a window and away from warm, dry air escaping from heating vents, fireplaces, and woodstoves.

Most of the plant's roots will be close to the top of the earth ball, so be sure to keep that area moist at all times: An average-size tree will require about one quart of water a day while it's indoors. Decorate the same as you would a cut tree but go easy on the electric lights, as heat from even the tiniest bulbs will tend to dry out a conifer's needles.

When you're ready to transplant your tree, it's a good idea to give it another transitional stay in the garage (find a site far enough from buildings and other trees to allow for future growth).

To transplant, dig a hole about one and a half times larger than the root mass and gently lower the sapling into place. (If your area has early freezes, you may have to dig the hole before the holidays, store the dirt indoors, and fill the hole with straw until planting time.) Next, remove the nails from the burlap bag and loosen the cloth to give the tree's roots a chance to breathe. Then, fill the hole with a portion of the dirt that was removed, and use the remaining soil to shape a small mound around the edge of the hole. Then dig a V- to 2"-wide ditch just inside that dike. Finally, mulch the tree with straw, and give your tree its first watering by filling the "moat" three times.

If your Christmas tree is carefully planted and cared for, you can expect it to begin an annual tradition that will continue to beautify your land for years to come and serve as a happy reminder of past holiday celebrations.

RECYCLE YOUR CHRISTMAS TREE

IF YOU DIDN'T BUY A LIVE TREE THIS year, there are still a few things you can do other than just throw your cut tree away.

• Take your treeand any extras you might have collected from the neighborsand pile in the comers of fields to make a home for quail, pheasants, and rabbits.
•Tie a couple of rocks to each evergreen and drop it into a pond (if your pond is frozen over, drag the tree out to a strategic spot on the ice and leave it for the first thaw). Small fish appreciate a little brush on the bottom of a farm pond; it gives them a chance to hide from the bigger fish—and maybe grow into big fish themselves!

 

PLANTING A LIVE CHRISTMAS TREE

Source: http://www.oldhouseweb.com/gardening/garden/03900108.shtml

Several varieties of pine, fir and spruce are sold balled and burlapped or in containers for use as Christmas trees, and can replanted after the holiday season. In areas where winter weather makes replanting difficult, the tree may be kept alive through the winter and replanted in the spring.

When replanting Christmas trees, care should be taken to keep the trees alive and healthy. A good location within the site should be chosen so as to best showcase the tree, keeping in mind the eventual size of the tree.

Following are some characteristics to consider when choosing a planting site:

Tree

Comments & Approx. height in 20 yrs

Austrian Pine

Long, dark green needles; 40 ft tall;  wind and salt resistant

Eastern White Pine

Soft blue-silver to green; 40 ft tall needles, windburns

Scotch Pine

Short green needles;40 ft tall; bark, prone to insects

Balsam Fir

Very short dark green needles, 30 ft tall open form

Douglas Fir

Yellow to blue green needles 40 ft tall; dense form

White Fir

Short, soft silvery blue 25 ft tall green needles, tolerates moderately heavy soils

Blue Spruce

Short stiff, sharp blue green 40 ft tall green needles, full sun

The hole in which the tree is to be planted should be dug before the ground freezes.

The hole should be 2 inches wider and 6 inches deeper than the estimated root ball. The hole should be covered with boards to prevent accidents, underneath which the soil should be spread with a foot thick layer of straw to prevent freezing.


 

http://www.livingchristmastrees.org/

Douglas fir Christmas tree.

The Original Living Christmas Tree Company

Phone: 503-813-TREE

email: office@livingchristmastrees.org

Douglas fir landscape tree.

 

The price to rent a Living Christmas Tree is 75$.  Each order also requires a separate $15 deposit check which we don't cash- we give it back to you when we get the tree back.  Make checks out to TOLCTC.  Write two separate checks, one for $75 to pay for renting your tree and include a separate $15 deposit check.  Email us that you want to order, we'll get your info and you can put checks under your door mat for us, the mail order option is available until 12/9.  Please email us so we can communicate with you that way.  The email link is at the bottom of the last page of this website.

We do take orders right up until like Saturday 12/16.

Delivery is 12/15 through 12/17.  One doesn't need to be home for delivery, we put the tree right next to your front door.  We just show up sometime between Friday morning and Sunday night.

Pickup is Tuesday January 2nd am.  Like it says in the care instructions provided with your tree, simply slide your tree outside your front door on New Years day evening (or earlier) and we come by and pick it up.

The trees are all 7 1/2 foot tall.  That is from the tiptop to the bottom of the pot.

We only do trees in Portland, OR.  As far as we know, a parks department of the City Of San Francisco is the only other similar service in the world.  And we've heard REI did something similar recently.

 

Some info about live tree rental and replanting in Portland, Oregon...

You get your tree delivered right next to your front door.  You keep it inside for two and a half weeks.  After new years slide it out your front door.  We pick it up and it gets planted to grow old and improve our environment.  Portlanders Christmas trees are planted by: public parks departments, private landowners, businesses, churches, schools...  Trees are planted all over the Northwest.  2006 is our fifteenth offering.  Over 2,000 Christmas trees have been planted.

TOLCTC doesn't grow or plant trees, we buy trees from Christmas tree growers and wholesale nurseries.  First we line up planters such as parks departments and landscapers.  When we know how many we can have planted we order that number of trees.  We buy trees from growers of Christmas trees and nursery stock.  Then we get the word out that living trees are available to be rented.  Folks order their tree from info on this website.  TOLCTC gets the trees from the country, delivers them to families who decorate them.  Then TOLCTC picks up the trees and transfers them to the planters.  The trees go to be planted together in groups at various sites in the Northwest to grow old and improve the environment.  So TOLCTC buys, rents and sells conifer trees.

Thirty miles outside Portland are hundreds of nurseries and land owners growing trees for the world.  Oregon is called the 'Nursery State' because we grow plants better than any other state.  Oregon is also number one in supplying the world with Christmas trees.  TOLCTC buys trees from close to the Portland metro area then delivers the trees to Portlanders houses and businesses for their Christmas trees.  After New Years we pick up the trees and our planters come to pick them up and take the Christmas trees away and plant them.  Over the past fourteen Christmas seasons hundreds of Portlanders, from all over the Portland metro area have celebrated the holidays with 7 foot tall living breathing best-seasonal-houseplant-ever naturally shaped conifer trees: Douglas fir, Norway spruce, Colorado spruces, Fraser firs, Balsam fir, Nordman fir, Sequoias and pines.  We sell trees to anyone who wants to buy and plant our trees.  (And we sell them for half of what we bought them for.)  TOLCTC has sold trees to: Reed College, City Of Portland, City of Tualatin, Friends of Fairview Creek, a church on Walker road, Hillsboro High School, private landowners, property managers and others. One of the neatest plantings was a private landowner in Vancouver who bought trees six years in a row and now has 70 of Portlanders living Christmas trees planted on her property.  We hope your visit to us was worthwhile.  The links to other pages of this website are in the upper left of this page.  The last page of this website has more info and the link to our email.  The Original Living Christmas Tree Company- A Lasting Tradition.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.worldofchristmas.net/christmas-trees

Christmas in South Asia

 


 

Environmental issues

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_tree

There is some debate as to whether artificial or real trees are better for the natural environment. Artificial trees are usually made out of PVC, a toxic material which is often stabilised with lead. Some trees have a warning that dust or leaves from the tree should not be eaten or inhaled. A small amount of real-tree material is used in some artificial trees. For instance, the bark of a real tree can be used to surface an artificial trunk. Polyethylene trees are less toxic, though more expensive, than PVC trees [3].

Artificial trees can be used for many years, but are usually non-recyclable, ending up in landfills. Real trees are used only for a short time, but can be recycled and used as mulch or used to prevent erosion [4]. Real trees also help reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere while growing.

Live trees are typically grown as a crop and replanted in rotation after cutting, often providing suitable habitat for wildlife. In some cases management of Christmas tree crops can result in poor habitat since it involves heavy input of pesticides. Organically grown Christmas trees are available in some markets, and as with many other crops, are widely held to be better for the environment. Dr. Patrick Moore, a co-founder and former president of Greenpeace, writes:

Whether you choose a cut or growing tree to enjoy this holiday season, I believe that a sensible environmentalist would opt for renewable over non-renewable every time. [5]

Industry

Each year, 33 to 36 million Christmas trees are produced in America, and 50 to 60 million are produced in Europe. In 1998, there were about 15,000 growers in America (a third of them "choose and cut" farms). In that same year, it was estimated that Americans spent $1.5 billion on Christmas trees.[3]