Eco-Friendly Christmas Trees

Christmas trees are a beloved tradition, yet people who love trees may feel a twinge when they realize that their beautiful holiday tree will be tossed in a few short weeks. Here are some ways to make the Christmas tradition just a little more earth-friendly.

Buy a tropical Christmas tree. The Norfolk Island Pine Araucaria heterophylla, hails from the balmy isles of the Pacific and is one of the few Christmas trees that can be grown indoors year round. This lovely evergreen was valued by the seafaring British who used its straight trunks in the masts of sailing ships. Your tree won't rival any of those Goliaths, but it will grow straight and true for many years in your home. Add a few pretty Christmas balls and some tinsel and you're set.

The main challenge for home growers is humidity and proper watering. This is one plant that cannot be allowed to completely dry out. If it does, it will shed branches like crazy. Don't keep it continuously wet, but do water when the top surface is only faintly damp. It needs air at the root like all plants, but it is more sensitive to drying than more familiar holiday plants like Christmas Cactus or Poinsettia that stand up better to absent-minded watering. So pot it it moisture-retaining soil with plenty of peat or a little ground coffee mixed in. Use a pebble tray, mist it with cool water daily, keep those branches moist as they are in their island homes.

Give it bright indirect light and put it in one of the cooler rooms of your home. It prefers low 60's by day, 50's by night. By sure to turn the plant regularly to retain its symmetrical beauty.

A plethora of opportunities await those blessed with yards. You may want to introduce a living Christmas tree into your home and replant it outside at the conclusion of your festivities. If you go this route, remember that your home is a lot warmer than the normal environment for these conifers so you may want to carefully time when to purchase and decorate the tree to better preserve it. It also helps to pick the coldest place you can find to display your Christmas tree. An unheated porch is much better than your living room.

Scotch Pines, Balsam Firs, Blue Spruce and Norway spruce are among the species commonly available as either cut trees for Christmas decoration or as potted shrubs for eventual planting. You may want to see some of these trees in their native settings before deciding which to plant since some grow quite large, while others may grow poorly in your climate zone. Many botanical gardens have pineatums or demonstration gardens that can prove illuminating. Seeing an actual specimen growing under conditions similar to yours is worth a thousand learned essays from books or magazines.

One of the best resources for gardeners in the downstate area is the Bayard-Cutting arboretum in Great River, Long Island. This garden contains a several-hundred acre pineatum filled with mature specimens of every conceivable variety. The New York Botanical Garden also is a stand-out in this area with the famous and newly restored Beneson Ornamental Conifers, the Arthur and Janet Ross Conifer Arboretum, and acreage of native Eastern White pines.

When in doubt, grow a White Pine. The Eastern White Pine, Pinus Strobus, or the Western White Pine, Pinus Strobiles are native Americans and may prove more adaptable to local growing conditions than foreign introductions. Both of these will also be more welcoming to native birds and wildlife. Both species also include multiple cultivars, including dwarfs and miniatures suitable for smaller places.

Perhaps you already have several massive evergreens already planted or have no desire to hack at frozen ground in the middle of winter to plant your prize. In that case, decorating the trees in your yard with bird-friendly fare may be a festive gift to your family and to nature.

Many companies produce decorations fashioned from bird seed that can attract hungry over-wintering songbirds to your trees. Trees can be decorated with garlands of popcorn hung in branches to sustain hungry songbirds. Strings of soft fruit such as cranberries, raisins or dried apple can be added as well. Small Feeders filled with suet, black-oil sunflower seeds, nyger, peanuts and other delights can be added to the massive branches and trunks of established evergreens to really attract those Christmasy-cardinals, debonaire Chickadees and lively goldfinches.

Perhaps you might want to treat your family to a trip to Longwood Gardens www.associatedcontent.com/article/2172637/longwood_gardens_in_west_chester_pennsylvania.html to view their annual Holiday Wildlife tree for ideas.

If you do decide to buy a traditional disposable Christmas tree, all is not lost. Many municipalities mulches and compost discarded Christmas trees. Consult your local sanitation department for more information on how to properly dispose of your tree so that it can be recycled.

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www.associatedcontent.com/article/2292619/caring_for_your_lovely_poinsettia.html
www.associatedcontent.com/article/2218405/visiting_new_york_city_at_christmas.html
www.associatedcontent.com/article/2127039/tight_christmas.html

Here is a link to all of my articles about gardening, travel and nature:
www.associatedcontent.com/user/583548/mary_finn.html

Sources:
www.thegardenhelper.com/norfolk.html
interiordec.about.com/od/christmastrees/tp/tp_cmastrees.htm
www.cedar-works.com/newsite/top_winter.html
www.doityourself.com/stry/edibledecorate
www.bayardcuttingarboretum.com/
www.nybg.org/gardens/test_garden.php
www.nybg.org/gardens/test_garden.php