A Live Christmas Tree

I've tried it for a 2^nd time, having a live Christmas tree rather than a cut one, or worse, a plastic tree.  The first time I encountered the realization that a live Christmas tree could be purchased, I wasn't thinking about the plastic Christmas trees that many folks seem to find room in their attics to store once the season is over.  I was thinking more about how wasteful to cut a tree down, bring it into my home, and then take it back outside to compost.  My composting luck is to be living on a 200-acre farm where I have 2 acres to compost, maybe a little lawn to mow, but mostly just have wild grasses and trees surrounding my home.  But folks in the cities have to what - add their cut, done tree to the landfills? 

Now my realizations have gone full circle to these facts: 1) My live tree is able to keep on living once I take it back outside and place it in the hole that I dug before the ground froze.  When sinking it back into the ground, just leave the cardboard basket as well as the wire basket surrounding the soil that the tree is planted in, setting the whole works into the ground.  2) Here's the most important part relating to plastic: there's absolutely no plastic in this whole tree/cardboard/wire/soil product.  I didn't purchase a plastic shiny Christmas tree – how disgusting they look. 

I did wrap little blue, red, green and yellow lights around the tree – LEDs, so low level electricity and they never get hot.  After planting this winter, the tree will go through a dormant stage and will most likely lose some needles.  But that's okay – all trees do that – we just don't notice evergreens like we notice maple trees' leaves turning color and falling to the ground.  All compost though which is great good.  Plastic Christmas trees are typically not recycled or even recyclable.  

I purchased my live tree from Second Nature at Read's Creek, with location and phone information in the Vernon Communications phone book.  I called them, discussed evergreen varieties available, prices and when and how I could bring my tree home. 

This was the happiest part of all!  I bought a Norway Spruce (Latin name Picea abies), 54” tall, for $165, including their delivery to me (which was 2 weeks before Christmas), and bringing it into my home for me.  A tag attached to my tree read “Mistletoe Mike, Loves warm hugs, and kisses too!”  The men had only one instruction which they verbalized as, “Water your tree once every day when it's inside, but not too much at one time.”  Side note:  I have a tile floor in this part of my home, so no harm from extra water possibly leaking onto the floor. 

I will enjoy my live Christmas tree through the coming seasons until it is time to bring it back into my home for another holiday celebration.

My live Christmas tree in its new outdoor location.