Consider A Live Christmas Tree

It was the day after Thanksgiving and I had to go to Home Depot to get some things for work. Outside the front of the store, they had a display showing the selection of live Christmas trees they had, with the approximate size, type and price. I thought that was very handy. But as I stood in the checkout line after my shopping, a woman wheeled her cart to the register nearby and every hair on the back of my neck stood up. I wanted to grab her, shake her and scream, “Lady, it’s Christmas, where in the world is your head at?”In her cart were eight nicely colored poinsettias. No problem here at all. But on top of her cart was a rectangular box about 7 feet long. On the side was clearly printed in large type, “Made in China,” and to the right of that in larger type it said “7 Foot Balsam Fir.” Well, nothing gets me going at this time of the year like a fake Christmas tree (appropriately boxed), even if it’s called “artificial” or “lifelike,” because they aren’t. They are fake!

When I left the store my sensibilities began to return and I said to myself, OK, maybe she doesn’t have the money for a live tree or maybe she thinks this fake one is more convenient or maybe it won’t burst into flames and become the front page of a newspaper article. But they were also selling live trees for $35, though I had no clue what she’d paid for her plastic and metal wannabe.

Then last week I was in a store that I frequent and I wanted to see what they had in the way of Christmas trees. While on the way to their outdoor nursery I passed the hard goods section, and there was their display of fake trees. There were green ones, silver ones, pre-lighted ones and oh, each one had a price on it. I nearly dropped when I saw one at $299 and the next one was $399. Well, they were there and I guess some folks really buy them. They must also spray them with those outdoor piney scents just to make sure that the fake tree is fully faked out in full olfactory splendor.

But there is good news. As a country we still buy twice as many live trees than fake ones (though it’s just as amazing how many fake trees we throw out every year), although in 2011 nearly three times as many real trees were purchased as fakes. Again, numbers that I simply don’t understand.

Yes, I know some of you may hate the day when the live tree has to be moved out of the house, but consider the ecological damage that making a fake tree does—the plastics, the metal, the carbon footprint of shipping them from China. The real tree? Probably grown on a Canadian nursery where each and every tree spends about seven to 10 years sucking the carbon out of the air and turns it into oxygen while at the same time supporting an agricultural industry in the U.S. and Canada that employs thousands of workers on family farms.

Want to keep it local? Fine, take a drive to Calverton, just on the other side of Riverhead, and visit the Baiting Hollow Nursery (631-929-4327). Bring your own saw and you can cut down your very own, locally grown, live Christmas tree.

Don’t have a saw? They’ll rent you one. Want a hay ride at the same time? They’ll give you one. Need the tree on the top of your car? They’ll help you with twine but won’t tie it for you, sorry. Don’t want to cut a tree down? They have plenty that are already cut. Want a tree that you can also plant after Christmas? They have them also.

And how much does all this cost? Ready? $15. They offer Douglas fir, blue spruce, Norway spruce and white pine, though you may find some others as well.

If you want to stay closer to home, just about every garden center from Westhampton to Montauk has trees for sale. There are about seven varieties being sold and you can find them up to 15 feet tall. But here’s a suggestion that I’ve been pushing for years—a balled and burlapped (B&B) or container-grown tree. Some years these can be a little tricky when the ground is frozen, but this year I have a feeling that isn’t going to be an issue.

Not every garden center has B&B Christmas trees, but if you don’t see them, ask. Look for a tree that has rich color and a good aroma, but shy away from any B&B tree that is dropping needles or has any yellowing. The tree may be heavy since it comes complete with roots and soil, so be ready to either lift it out of the trunk or have it delivered. When the tree gets home look at the tree and look at your property. Choose a place where the tree will reside after the holiday and give it a nice big hole for a home. Fill the hole with leaves or straw and keep the soil from the hole nearby.

Leave the tree outdoors until a few days before Christmas, then when you bring it in, put it in a spot where it can be as cool as possible—that’s not in front of the fireplace. Once it’s inside you can wrap the ball with plastic and then every day give the tree some water, treating the plastic wrap like a plastic bag. Don’t drown the tree, just give it enough water to keep the ball moist. The tree shouldn’t stay in the house for more than a week, and once de-ornamented it can go back outside and into the hole you dug when the tree arrived. Never plant the tree deeper than the ball, and higher is always safer than lower.

If it stays mild, water the tree every week or so until the soil is frozen, and if you want to take an extra step spray it with an anti-desiccant (you can buy it in ready-to-spray or ready-to-use bottles) to protect it from wind and desiccation. The tree will probably live for ages and will forever be a memory of this Christmas.

In fact, why not make it an annual ritual? We did this for many years when I lived next to Southampton College, and I think 10 of those trees are still thriving on the campus some 30ish years later.

If you buy a cut tree you really don’t need to trash it after the holiday. Once you bring it back outside, cut the boughs at the trunk and use them in the garden as a winter mulch. The boughs can be placed on top of a leaf mulch to keep the leaves in place, and I’ve stacked the boughs to protect slightly tender plants during the winter.

You’ll never ever convince me that a fake Christmas tree is in any way, shape or form better than the real thing. Live Christmas trees keep a tradition alive. B&B Christmas trees keep the memories for generations. Enjoy the real thing and of course, keep growing.