Living Christmas Trees

A Joy Now and For Years to Come

The holiday season is upon us once again. While it has become the busiest time of year, it is also the most magical. The magic for me is closely related to family and friends, and to the traditions that have developed over the years. The ritual I enjoy most is selecting and putting up the Christmas tree. My earliest memories of Christmas are sitting under the tree, marveling over the colorful, twinkling lights and the detail of the ornaments. Even now, I still get goose bumps when I sit for a moment next to a Christmas tree.

In my 40-something years I have experienced the full gamut of tree options. Being a child of the 60s, my early recollections are of an artificial foil tree with blue ornaments and a revolving color wheel that changed the color of the tree from blue to red to green to yellow. By the time I was in high school, the foil tree had been replaced by a fresh-cut tree that added evergreen fragrance to my Christmas memories.

My college years were my first experience with living Christmas trees – ones that are growing in containers rather than cut (and killed) in the field. The limited space of a dorm room or apartment made these smaller trees a perfect choice, and being a student of horticulture, I loved the added tradition of being able to plant the tree after Christmas. Now that I have a home and family of my own, the tradition of a living tree has added significance. Not only do we have a fresh, fragrant, magical display in our home for the holidays, we also have a new plant for our landscape that will give us joy and memories for years to come.

Tree Care
Taking care of a living tree while it is indoors is a fairly simple process. There are a few things to keep in mind, though, so that it stays fresh and remains alive. Select a place indoors where the tree will receive as much light as possible. Keep the soil and roots moist, but not soggy – roots don’t like sitting in standing water. Some needle drop is normal and bound to occur. To minimize this, position the tree away from fireplaces, furnace registers or other heat sources.

After the holidays, it is a good idea to reacclimate a living tree to the outdoors. In areas where temperatures are freezing, place the tree in a cool, protected place such as an unheated garage, porch or patio. Continue to water. In mild climes where the soil is workable (soil not frozen or too wet), the tree can be planted once it has readjusted to outdoor temperatures (about a week or two). In colder climes, keep the tree in a protected site until the soil has thawed and is workable.

When planting your tree outdoors be sure to select a site that is appropriate for your tree. Most Christmas trees prefer a site that will receive full sun or light shade. It is important to know the variety of tree and how it will grow. Dwarf Alberta spruce trees are the most popular living Christmas tree. They are a true dwarf that will grow to a mature height of 8-10 feet with a spread of about 4-5 feet. They grow to this height quite slowly – a 1 gallon Alberta that is about 18-24" tall is already 4 years old! Because of its small stature, dwarf Albertas are a very popular landscape plant. They can be used as a focal point, foundation planting, near the entryway, or even as a hedge. Dwarf Alberta spruces grow in a wide range of climates, withstanding the frigid temperatures of USDA Hardiness zone 2 through zone 8. While they are extremely cold tolerant they do not tolerate the intense heat of the South.

Pine trees also make great living Christmas trees. Italian Stone and Aleppo pines are both desert pines that grow fairly quickly and are trimmed to be a full and shapely Christmas tree. These will grow into full-size evergreens with a mature height of 30-80 feet so don’t plant these as a foundation plant! As these trees grow their needles will change from their smaller juvenile proportions to their longer, greener adult length. Both pines will mature into stately, more open trees. Because they are desert pines, they are very heat and drought tolerant, making them a good choice for southern zones.

For all trees, prepare a planting hole that is large enough to accommodate the rootball comfortably. Position the tree in the hole with the top of the rootball at ground level. Fill in the hole with existing soil and water thoroughly. Keep the tree well-watered until it is established. When it begins new needle growth, feed once with a slow-release balanced fertilizer, such as Jackson & Perkins Root Boost. Once established, fertilizer is not necessary.

Our tree is now standing in our living room, exuding an aura of peace and good tidings. The next ritual will be to visit the trees of Christmases past that are growing in our yard, including the Italian Stone pine that was planted five years ago and commemorates our first Christmas in our new home and the first Christmas for my youngest son. The whole family will then decide where this year’s tree should be planted once it has finished its magical stay in our living room. Happy Holidays!