In a recent blog post I talked about Christmas gifts for the gardeners on your shopping list. Yesterday, I received a call from someone who made a really good organic gift suggestion- a gift to yourself and to the environment: buying a live Christmas tree. I was told about how a live tree has the advantage of producing oxygen and filtering carbon dioxide, which we know is important for the environment. What’s cool about it too, is that it continues to live – after the holidays.

This sounds like a neat option if you live in a warm climate which allows you to plant the tree shortly after the holidays. But what to do if you reside in Canada or the Northeastern United-States? This question led me to call up an old buddy of mine, J.C. Éthier, who studied Forest Management. He confirmed that live trees were indeed a good idea. He also explained that Northern residents should, after the holidays, remove the tree from its burlap bag and plant it in a large pot containing a blend of good soil and peat moss. The important thing then is to keep the pot in a cool space (such as the basement) and water it frequently. Trees need lots of water. Then plant it outdoors in April or May, depending on where you live. If you don’t have an outdoor space, try donating it to a local park or school. It will certainly make someone happy.

If you live in a part of the world where you can plant in January, then move the tree in the “bag” outside for a few days (to allow it to get used to its new environment) making sure it gets enough water at all times and then plant it.

I would love to come up with a North-American list of places to buy live trees, so keep the names of good live tree vendors coming!

For more thoughts on live trees, here is a handful of Web site sources:

http://www.americanforests.org/news/display.php?id=125
http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/12/24/a-greener-christmas-tree/
http://gardening.about.com/od/winterinthegarden/a/ChristmasTrees.htm

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