All of the festivities and fun of the holiday season is done and it is time to take down the Christmas tree. This year, instead of disposing of the tree, have you ever wanted to replay your Christmas tree? What a fun backyard idea to have trees from past Christmases!
By replanting your Christmas tree, you can begin a long tradition that will carry your holiday spirit on from year to year. Here is some valuable information and directions on how to replant your holiday tree.
The first step to replanting your Christmas tree is to make sure that you purchase a living tree at the beginning of the holiday season! Living trees have the roots still intact and wrapped in a burlap. A great benefit to buying this type of tree is that it will, with proper care, stay fresh and green throughout the season, as opposed to a cut tree that can easily dry out and brown.
While the tree is being enjoyed and adorned with holiday décor inside your home it can stand in a large basin or container with the burlap wrapped root ball surrounded with and supported by some peat moss, or sawdust.
A living Christmas tree should only be kept and used inside a home for about 10 days, and no more than 2 weeks. They should not be placed by any heat sources like open vents, fireplaces, or other varied heat sources and warm drafts.
Decorating the tree with an abundance of electric lights can also heat the tree and create some damage and lessen the chances of replanting success. The root ball should be kept moist at all times to ensure the long term health of the tree.
To avoid the shock of going from an indoor environment to outdoor planting, let the tree stand in a cooler ‘indoor’ location like a garage or shed for about a week to acclimate it back to the cooler air. Move it to its final planting location (the hole for planting should be at a minimum twice as wide as the root ball) afterwards. Remove the burlap surrounding the root ball, and backfill around the tree. Give the tree a healthy amount of water and cover the planting area with 2-3 inches of good quality mulch. Applying some fertilizer can wait until the spring.
