…and the final product! Happy Christmas everyone! by David Stephensen
TheGardenLady thinks there is nothing lovelier for Christmas than a cut, fresh tree. But of course, there are those who don’t want to see a tree cut, or who don’t have the room for a large tree. Or there may be those who would like multiple Christmas trees in the house for the Holiday season and either don’t have the money for numerous large trees nor the room for numerous Christmas trees.
Whatever the reason, why not consider buying a tree in a container or if you find it with burlap around its roots. Go to your local nursery. Many are still open during the holiday season. Check out their small evergreen trees in pots. Some will hold the tree for you to be picked up closer to Christmas. When you bring it in, it can then be decorated and used indoors during the holiday season. And hopefully it can be planted in your or a friend’s garden or kept on your balcony or patio after the holiday is over. How to care for the tree is here.
The tree goweth by KTandCoffee
Many dwarf evergreen trees or young evergreens can be brought indoors with root balls intact and decorated for Christmas and then kept alive outdoors to perhaps be used indoors next Christmas.
But the important thing to know is that these trees cannot be in the warm house very long. If you are able to decorate the tree on Christmas Eve and then get it out doors as soon as the New Year starts, that would be good. It is best to just keep it indoors for 5 days. This is very important if you want the tree to survive when planted outdoors.
The other very important thing is to keep the roots well watered because it is in so little soil when it is in a pot. But do not over water the plant. It does NOT want to stand in water- that will kill the roots. Also, try to place the potted tree away from heat vents or sunny, south facing windows.
If you plan on planting the potted evergreen tree outdoors after Christmas be sure that the tree you choose is right for your area and that you have a suitable place for the tree. See here. It is advisable to dig the hole in preparation for planting before the soil freezes. So dig it when you buy the tree. Keep the soil from the hole somewhere where it won’t freeze. Then you can just pop the tree into the hole after Christmas and cover it with the fresh saved soil.
It would be nice to have the small Christmas tree in a pretty cache pot to put the container with the planted tree in. You can even buy unpainted pots and decorate them yourselves with paints or whatever items you find for the decorating, like garlands. In fact, since you should not have the tree with its decorations kept in the house for more than 5 to 7 days, decorating the cache pot that the tree will be kept in while indoors would make a lovely family project the week before Christmas. This is an activity that all ages can do to make it a more meaningful holiday season.
I wonder how many people decorate their bonsai evergreen trees? I think this would make such a lovely decoration if you can find miniature bulbs, perhaps in a store that sells doll house furniture. I can visualize decorated bonsai trees as table decorations or as part of a little Christmas scene on a special shelf.
If you do decorate your bonsai or container tree, TheGardenLady readers would love to see photos of them. Please share your holiday photos with us.
And if your container plant does die after Christmas, that is sad but not the worst thing in the world. Remember it can be composted. I believe that Composting is nature’s way of sending beloved plants to heaven.