O Christmas tree, what to do with thee?
Recycle, repurpose and keep your tree out of the landfill
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Long story. Read on…
Hello, friends!
I hope you had a lovely holiday and have gotten the new year off to a good start.
For the first time ever, my Christmas tree didn’t make it to Christmas. In hindsight, it probably was dead on arrival, despite appearances (its branches were pliable, its scent was fresh, and it passed the tap test.) But what I didn’t realize until much later was that the fresh cut I assumed was being made while I was moving my car to the loading area never happened.
That cut is necessary because within 12 hours of cutting a tree, its sap begins to seal the wound. Once that happens, water uptake becomes difficult, if not impossible. The remedy, if performed in time, is simply to cut a 1/2- to 1-inch slice off the bottom of the trunk and — voila! — drinking commences.
When nearly two days passed without any decrease in the stand’s water level, I investigated and learned the painful truth that this particular vendor does not make that necessary cut when trees are purchased, as many retailers do.
No problem. My husband, John, who is well-versed in Christmas tree trunk-sawing made quick and easy work of the task without even removing the tree from the living room. But the tree still did not drink. He sliced a bit more a few days later and poured in a half-bottle of plant preservative, but it was becoming clear this year’s tree was a dud.
And indeed it was. By mid-December, we were lighting the tree for only a couple of hours each night, never leaving it unattended, even though we had just switched to cool LED string lights (a coincidence for which I was grateful). On Dec. 20th, we had even stopped doing that. By then, my beautiful Fraser fir was a dehydrated shadow of its former self, its branches pointing due south, and precious ornaments imperiled. And that’s saying nothing of the piles of needles adorning the gifts beneath.
John pruning branches off our tree after Christmas, 2018.
John is an extremely meticulous guy. Ordinarily, after the ornaments are put away, he individually removes each branch with pruners. When the tree is bare, it’s easy to carry it out of the house, and there’s no needle trail to the door. We scatter the branches under a row of evergreens, where they insulate the soil and protect root crowns from heaving out of the ground during the freeze-thaw cycles of winter. The branches decompose over time and enrich the soil as they break down.
The trunk is cut into logs, left to dry, and used in our outdoor fire pit (never burn fresh softwoods in indoor fireplaces; their sap can exude a lot of smoke, and resins can build up in chimneys. But contrary to popular belief, it’s fine to do so if the wood has been allowed to age for six or more months.)
This year, John ended up removing most of the branches after I went to sleep on Dec. 23. I had expected to wake up to find the tree gone, but instead he had wrapped the bare trunk with lights and re-decorated the top. Fire hazard averted. Christmas saved. Photographic evidence, for posterity, above.
Here are some other ways to keep Christmas trees out of landfills:
If you have access to a chipper, shred the tree and apply the resulting mulch over garden beds, where it will help keep soil temperatures even, retain moisture and inhibit weeds. It’s a myth that pine needles lower the soil pH, so no worries there.
Surround vulnerable plants or cover planted bulbs and roots of zone-teetering tender perennials with boughs and branches for insulation.
Leave the tree in its stand, and just move the whole thing outside into the yard, sans ornaments, tinsel or “flocking” (spray-on fake “snow”). Then stand back and watch as non-migratory birds set up housekeeping in its nooks and crannies. Install a bird feeder or get creative and hang peanut butter-and-seed pine cones or fresh fruit “ornaments” to keep feathered friends and other wildlife nourished. This practice can extend beyond faded Christmas trees, too: You might consider allowing dead trees to remain in the garden, rather than dig them out, to provide shelter for birds and other wildlife. It’s perfectly safe to do so, as long as the tree is structurally stable (monitor occasionally).
If you have a large pond, you can simply drag your whole tree into it, and guide it to the bottom. Just be sure to remove any remnants of tinsel (and don’t do this if your tree is flocked). Fish will welcome their new habitat and the hiding places it provides.
📬Question of the week
DEAR JESSICA: I really enjoying reading The Weekly Dirt! I've shared it with a few of my gardening friends already.
This year, I decided to start drying and saving seeds from some of my more successful plantings. As I was storing my seeds in the basement, I came across an amaryllis bulb I had put in a brown paper bag and saved from last Christmas. When I removed it from the bag, the roots looked healthy so I decided to plant it and placed it on the windowsill in my den. Within a week it sent up two healthy shoots.
Most gardening people I have spoken with have told me it's unlikely to bloom again. I can't believe such a beautiful flower with a healthy bulb only has one life. I find it difficult to throw it out, and I'd prefer to remain hopeful. What do you think? —Janette Diehlmann
DEAR JANETTE: Your amaryllis absolutely should bloom again.
Amaryllis are typically forced to bloom indoors for the holidays and then all too often ditched afterward. But they can be kept for reblooming indoors next winter, either by storing bulbs right in their pots in a cool, dark, dry spot, like an unheated basement (at 40-45 degrees), or by digging up their bulbs and storing them in a box of peat moss under the same conditions, which is similar to what you’ve done (peat moss decreases the odds the bulb will rot in storage, as it absorbs moisture.)
You don’t say when you removed it from storage, so I can’t predict when your amaryllis will bloom (repotting in November offers the best odds for holiday blooms.) Keep it by a sunny window and water it regularly for the remainder of winter. It should flower at some point.
To maximize next year’s blooms, move it outdoors in May to allow it to soak up some quality sunlight. You can opt to plant the bulb in the garden or sink the pot into the ground up to its rim in a spot that gets full morning sun and a bit of shade in the afternoon.
Bring it back indoors in September, when its leaves and stalks turn yellow. Snip away its withering foliage and cut faded stalks just above the bulb. Stop watering and put the bulb — potted or boxed — back into the basement until late November. (If any of the foliage is still green in September, keep the plant as a houseplant, well-watered by a sunny window, until leaves and stalks turn completely yellow.)
This is all conventional gardening protocol.
In actuality, I have kept my amaryllis in the living space of my home year-round. When it gets funky looking, I trim off the leaves and cut down the stalks, and leave the empty pot where it is, until one day, typically between Halloween and Thanksgiving, I notice a three-inch-long shoot and wonder how it got there overnight.
Photo by Janette Diehlmann
💡If you do one thing this week…
On a day when the temperature is warmer than 40 degrees, apply an anti-desiccant to evergreens to protect against dehydration from dry winter winds.
🌱📅It’s January — do you know where your gardening calendar is?
If you had my 2021 Day-by-Day Gardening Calendar, you’d know exactly what you should be doing today — and every day of the year — to keep your houseplants healthy, your crops producing and your garden beautiful.
Every daily box contains a little nudge from me to you: a timely chore or tip to keep your garden on track all year long. Order yours here
👏 Sunday shoutout
When Robert Schmidt of Long Island, NY, dug up his elephant ear bulb last year, he found it to be “not in great shape.” But rather than discard it, he decided to keep and overwinter it. “I always have trouble getting rid of plants,” he explained. So in spring, he said, “I split it into three and planted the bulbs in my garden.” Here, “they are in a [row] but all similar in size,” he said. “It’s amazing how something in such bad shape could become as beautiful as these did.”
Good call, Robert. As we know, in the immortal words of Yogi Berra (and Lenny Kravitz), “It ain't over ‘til it's over.”
Photo courtesy Robert Schmidt
Until next week, stay safe. Be well. And always keep your mind in the dirt. —Jessica
📧Send me your feedback!
I welcome your comments and suggestions, so please send them along — as well as any topics you’d like to see covered and questions you’d like answered in the Question of the Week section.
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