Soldato
yeah. I used on of those stands that allow watering of the tree. recommended.
Live Christmas Trees
- Thread starter Eddie
- Start date
yeah. I used on of those stands that allow watering of the tree. recommended.
To get back to the original question...
I bought a small live tree that I used last Xmas. I live in a flat with a large balcony area, so I asked the guy when I bought it whether it was possible to keep it alive in such a situation, and he said it should be fine.
So after Xmas, I put it outside and in Spring I planted it into a large pot.
Initially, a lot of the top of the tree had brown needles. However, it started to sprout some new growths and they've been growing all year since, so it's doing just fine.
My original plan of bringing it back in and using it again has gone out the window though. Firstly, it's heavy! Bare in mind this is only a small tree as well! As it has its roots and obviously needs a decent size pot.
Secondly, it's in a pot which is obviously somewhat free draining... you can't put it outside in a sealed pot, as it would get bogged up in water. You can't really remove it from the pot, thus the problem is that if you bring it in the house, you are going to have to find some way of having the water that drains through the pot into something else, most likely that would be kind of unsightly.
Thirdly you've got insects and whatever else that have taken residence inside the tree and compost.
So this year I've decided just to buy a nice looking fake tree instead... which is bigger and arguably better looking. However, I do miss having a real tree and the smell it gives off.
I bought a small live tree that I used last Xmas. I live in a flat with a large balcony area, so I asked the guy when I bought it whether it was possible to keep it alive in such a situation, and he said it should be fine.
So after Xmas, I put it outside and in Spring I planted it into a large pot.
Initially, a lot of the top of the tree had brown needles. However, it started to sprout some new growths and they've been growing all year since, so it's doing just fine.
My original plan of bringing it back in and using it again has gone out the window though. Firstly, it's heavy! Bare in mind this is only a small tree as well! As it has its roots and obviously needs a decent size pot.
Secondly, it's in a pot which is obviously somewhat free draining... you can't put it outside in a sealed pot, as it would get bogged up in water. You can't really remove it from the pot, thus the problem is that if you bring it in the house, you are going to have to find some way of having the water that drains through the pot into something else, most likely that would be kind of unsightly.
Thirdly you've got insects and whatever else that have taken residence inside the tree and compost.
So this year I've decided just to buy a nice looking fake tree instead... which is bigger and arguably better looking. However, I do miss having a real tree and the smell it gives off.
Thanks for the post. I was wondering about the things you mention, funnily enough. My first thought was the weight as just getting it to and from the car was tricky enough, never mind bringing it in in years to come when it's even bigger, which is why I was thinking of maybe planting it afterwards.
I'd considered the insects and stuff too but we've got a bit of a swamp situation in certain parts of the garden which means we get all manour of insects coming into the house all year round, a few more at xmas wouldn't really make that much difference in all honesty. Well, we'll see if I'm saying the same thing after I've brought it in
The problem of what exactly to put it in when I bring it into the house is something I hadn't thought of, maybe just stick it in a red house pot or something and make sure it's watered and doesn't dry out.
I think it's probably better to try and keep it in a pot rather than planting it out, don't know a lot about gardening really. I might phone B&Q in the morning and ask them what type of trees it is they sell, whether it's the ones grown in a pot or the ones just dug up and stuck in a pot.
I'm glad to hear your tree is still living, I hope I can say the same about mine in the coming months.
If you are concerned about it being wasteful and not environmentally friendly you could always rent a tree for the Christmas period and then return it so someone else can have it next year?
Somewhere like: http://www.treesforrent.com/index.asp
Somewhere like: http://www.treesforrent.com/index.asp
Interesting, I didn't know you could rent a tree, not a bad idea that.
ah but the only reason it even exists is to be chopped down.
on another note trees are classed as carbon neutral by the gov
Nor did I until earlier today when my girlfriend mentioned that someone in work was doing this, bit of a coincidence that your thread came up!
Soldato
Fake tree ***.
It's not, because it's rotting in the garden. And it's not carbon neutral because you're putting carbon inputs from fossil fuels in the form of chainsawing/digging and transport. Once you start adding in the flows it's not quite as straightforward.
Soldato
Tbh I don't pay any attention to co2 footprint - it's purely a tax measure and doesn't relate to the problem in hand (if there even IS a problem).
The fact the fake trees are made of plastic, are shipped thousands of miles, then shipped to the shops, where try are kept in shops heated lit and powered isn't great. Compare that to forests planted to grow, consuming co2 for their life en-masse, and then reused as mulch/fertiliser which would otherwise be made by heavy industry using nitrates; means it's probably a no brainer to me.
as I say if here is even a co2 problem, which most of the evidence suggests there isn't.
But forgetting all of that the experience is massively better.
The fact the fake trees are made of plastic, are shipped thousands of miles, then shipped to the shops, where try are kept in shops heated lit and powered isn't great. Compare that to forests planted to grow, consuming co2 for their life en-masse, and then reused as mulch/fertiliser which would otherwise be made by heavy industry using nitrates; means it's probably a no brainer to me.
as I say if here is even a co2 problem, which most of the evidence suggests there isn't.
But forgetting all of that the experience is massively better.
Permabanned
Real trees are awesome due to the smell they give off.
I usually buy a cut tree rather than a potted one and then get it chipped down the local garden centre afterwards. I do have mine up for a month generally so I get more use out of mine than some others.
I usually buy a cut tree rather than a potted one and then get it chipped down the local garden centre afterwards. I do have mine up for a month generally so I get more use out of mine than some others.
Man of Honour
What if you chopped it down by hand, and transported it yourself, during a journey you'd be making anyway?
Associate
- Joined
- 30 Nov 2003
- Posts
- 2,211
This is a bizarre thread.
Obviously cut trees will not last. Potted ones won't last either because they're potted with a mixture of sand and a bit of soil to retain moisture, but mostly sand. By the time they arrive in store they're dry as hell and well beyond saving.
Imagine being ripped out of your skin, blasted with hot air, dumped in sand, potted, netted, transported hundreds of miles in varying temperatures and moisture and then stuck outside in the cold, wind and rain for two months. Of course they're not going to survive.
We do however sell Grow Your Own trees for £7.98 IIRC, which can be planted and will grow like any other tree.
Obviously cut trees will not last. Potted ones won't last either because they're potted with a mixture of sand and a bit of soil to retain moisture, but mostly sand. By the time they arrive in store they're dry as hell and well beyond saving.
Imagine being ripped out of your skin, blasted with hot air, dumped in sand, potted, netted, transported hundreds of miles in varying temperatures and moisture and then stuck outside in the cold, wind and rain for two months. Of course they're not going to survive.
We do however sell Grow Your Own trees for £7.98 IIRC, which can be planted and will grow like any other tree.
Last edited:
Do you work for B&Q?
Since making my OP I have discovered that there are two types of potted xmas tree; the ones where they just dug up a tree and stuck it in a pot and the ones that are actually grown in the pot. From my understanding it appears that the ones that are dug up will just die not long after xmas whereas the ones actually grown in a pot will live on.
There has been a couple of posts where people have managed to keep their trees alive after the xmas period so it doesn't really tally with what you say.
Associate
- Joined
- 30 Nov 2003
- Posts
- 2,211
Yup.
Those trees were lucky or didn't come from B&Q (most likely grown in the pot from the first place). Ours come from a variety of places due to the amount we buy, but the vast majority are dug up and potted because it's cheaper to grow them in the ground rather than the pot in the first place. Hence the label saying that it's not suitable for planting.
Right, so the ones B&Q sell are just lifted out the ground and stuck in a pot. This brings me to my original question, what's the point of that?
I'm tempted to take the tree back now and get a proper one designed to either be planted or to live on in the pot. Like a said earlier, I thought the whole point of a potted tree was so that it lived on, but with the thing just dying shortly after xmas I don't see the point of buying a potted one, other than the needles maybe staying on it for longer.
Associate
- Joined
- 30 Nov 2003
- Posts
- 2,211
What do you mean, what's the point of that? What's the point of any business? To make money.
It's cheaper to rip trees out of the ground and pot them to sell than it is to sell trees that have always been potted. The majority of people don't plant them anyway. It says they're not suitable for planting on the label. It also helps year on year business.
It's really not that hard to understand.
Why didn't you read the label in the store? If you want proper trees go to a proper garden centre/horticulturalist/christmas tree forest.
Last edited:
Permabanned
You could try to make a clone by cutting a branch and putting the end under water and then cutting it off again, then dipping it in clone hormone mix than you can buy from any plant shop. Then stick the branch in to the ground. It should grow roots and grow in to a tree.
I mean why do people buy them in the first place? I was under the impression that they were sold so that you could use them after the xmas period, i.e. they will live on, this is why I thought they were in a pot but it appears to not be the case.
Regarding the label, it only says 'this tree is not suited to replanting outdoors', it doesn't say 'this tree will die after xmas, even if you leave it in the pot'
It's my own fault I know, I should have looked into it further before I got one. I'll take it back (if I can) and go to a proper garden centre as you suggested.
Last edited: