Christmas Tree After Management
Newsletter
Managing the Tree after Christmas
When the presents have been opened and the kinfolks have gone home, it’s time to do something constructive like planting the tree if it is a living one or recycling it if it is a cut tree. The thing to avoid for sure is sending the tree to the landfill.
If your Christmas tree is one of the living choices, plant it as soon as possible after Christmas. The longer it’s left indoors, the poorer the chances of keeping it alive outdoors. Choose a well-drained spot in full sun, dig a wide ugly hole no deeper than the ball, backfill with soil from the hole only, no amendments, settle the soil with water – no tamping, then cover the disturbed area with ½” of compost followed by 3” of coarse shredded cedar or other native tree mulch. No staking, wrapping, thinning or mulch piled up on the flare.
If you used a cut tree, take it to a recycling drop off point to be ground into mulch or better still, grind yours at home and use it for mulch around your own ornamental plants. Even if the tree was flocked, it can be used for mulch because the flocking material is usually made from latex glue, which microorganisms will gobble up pretty fast. Christmas tree mulch not only looks good but smells great too.
The Dirt Doctor Podcast · 36 min