Tips on What to do With That Live Christmas Tree After the Holidays
For Immediate Release
December 08, 2010
Media Contact:
Sue Bennett
847-353-0928
sbennett@thecareoftrees.com
You bought a fresh cut tree and decorated it for the holidays season. But once the holidays are over and it’s time to take down the tree and the decorations, what do you do with it? According to Rex Bastian, Ph.D., with The Care of Trees, there are several environmentally friendly ways to dispose of the tree. Here are some tips:
- Make a bird feeder: A Christmas tree makes great shelter for birds in your backyard and offers a place for them to rest and feed. Remove all decorations and hooks from the tree and secure it in the ground or to a post. Make edible ornaments from pine cones spread in peanut butter and rolled in bird seed or strings of popcorn. Be sure to have a nearby water source available for the birds, as well. Usually, the tree will turn brown as soon as the weather begins to warm in the spring, and the branches will become brittle. Break the tree apart and recycle using one the following methods.
- Make mulch or compost: The branches of a Christmas tree can be chipped or shredded and used as mulch in the yard to retain moisture under trees and plants or placed in the compost pile.
- Use it for covering perennials: Branches from the tree can be used to cover plants to help protect them from the cold and wind.
- Recycle the tree: Check with your village to find out details about tree recycling in your community.
Never burn your Christmas tree or any fresh conifer wood in a fireplace or wood stove. The trees have a lot of sap, which when burned turns into creosote that can coat the inside of your chimney and possibly lead to a chimney fire.