Real Christmas tree question

My family got one a few years ago. It survived until after Christmas and we did plant it, but it was very hard to get inside.

 

During my kid's childhood, when we were living in NC, we bought what's called a balled tree every year. Some survived, some didn't. It's best to prepare the planting site ahead of time. They need to be planted as soon as possible after the holidays and by then the ground is usually frozen solid. Also, be sure the type of tree you pick will grow at your elevation. I remember being disappointed that a frasier fir we bought one year didn't survive at Asheville's elevation and the tree farm owner explained that they are more suited to an even higher elevation.

http://www.wikihow.com/Plant-a-Living-Christmas-Tree

 

We did that several years running and my dad's house still has 3 of them standing over 20 ft tall now. You do want to have the hole dug pre-season to make it easier, and choose a variety that is naturally found there, for the best results.

 

Growing up in PA, we did this every year. It was a family tradition to go pick it out, my dad dug it up and I helped my mom bag the roots/dirt. Get it set up a few days later. Mom kept it moist until December 26th, then Dad had to go out and dig a hole in the frozen dirt (was never happy about that). And we planted it on the 26th each and every year. They lived many many many years, then my dad decided he wanted to widen the drive way- needless to say they are no longer there.

 

I suspect that they do better if they are not kept inside the warm house for too long. Tree metabolism slows down during the winter, and the tree will wake up if it is warm for too many days in a row. You don't want the tree to wake back up.

I keep some of my outdoor plants inside the house over the winter, but they are under grow lights. If you want to keep the tree inside for a long period of time, then it would do better with a grow light and then keep it inside until spring. Like if you always put up the tree the day after Thanksgiving and don't take it down until New Years. If you want it inside that long, I suggest that you treat it like a house plant.

I really like the concept of a live tree. If you have a good place to plant it after the holidays.

 

In High School, I had a friend who's family did this. Only they had one tree, had been THE TREE since my friend H was a baby.

The tree lived the rest of the year on their deck, in a very very large pot. They brought it in for 5 days during the Christmas season.

 

Haven't myself, but had a neighbor who did. They dug the hole well before it was needed. Filled it with straw and covered the hole and dirt with tarp. Didn't bring in the tree until just before Christmas and took it down for planting soon after the holiday. It was never inside longer than 5 days.

Love, Linn B (aka Smart Red) Gardening zone 5a - 4b in south-est, central-est Wisconsin

 

Quote:Hope you got time during the early to mid-afternoon ... we've got nightly frosts forecast for behind this rain.

(I did NOT move far enough south ...)