What to buy, what to serve, which events to attend — December is typically full of decisions. Here’s one more for you to contemplate: What are you going to do with your Christmas tree?
According to the Nature Conservancy, some 10 million live Christmas trees end up in landfills every year. There, they are covered with soil, which results in anaerobic (oxygen-deprived) decomposition rather than the aerobic (oxygen-fueled) process by which they would break down in a natural setting, such as on the forest floor.
Anaerobic decomposition is not only very slow (a tree can take years to break down) but it also generates greenhouse gases like methane and carbon dioxide, which may contaminate groundwater.
If you’d like to avoid this, you have options that not only will avoid harming the environment but may also help improve your garden, and all of them begin with removing ornaments, tinsel or “flocking” (spray-on fake “snow”) from the tree.
Firewood and mulch
At the end of every holiday season, my late husband, John, used to remove our Christmas trees’ branches — one by one — using garden pruners right in the living room. As he cut each branch, he would drop it into a large trash bag at his feet.
When the bag was full, I would take it outdoors and distribute the branches throughout the garden to insulate the soil and protect bulbs and perennial root crowns from heaving out of the ground during the freeze-thaw cycles of winter.
Meanwhile, John would get to work sawing the trunk into segments, then would bring them outdoors, where they would cure over winter. After six months of drying, we’d burn the dried wood in our fire pit. Ashes to ashes, as they say.
In spring, I would revisit my garden mulch and cut the brittle branches and stems into smaller pieces, leaving them in place to further decompose without interfering with the emerging springtime garden. Pine needles don’t significantly lower soil pH, despite what you might have heard, so they will not imperil your plants.
The practice not only provides free winter mulch and firewood, but also allows you to remove the tree from the house without leaving a trail of needles from the living room to the door. Win-win!
Wildlife havens
If you have a large pond, consider sinking your tree to create shelter for fish. They’ll appreciate their new hiding place.
Or leave the tree in its stand and set it out in the yard. Secure it, if necessary, to avoid tipping in strong winter winds. Then watch as nonmigratory birds make a home in it. A bird feeder hanging from a branch will help entice new residents even more.
If that’s not possible, just drag the whole thing outside and lay it down in an out-of-the-way corner of the yard to provide shelter for birds and other wildlife.
Local programs
Some communities hold special tree collections after the holidays and use them to fortify sand dunes, counter erosion or provide shelter for wildlife. Some municipalities chip collected trees and then supply the resulting mulch free of charge to homeowners.
To find programs in your town, county, or state, call your local offices or search online.
You might even donate your tree to a local farm; many will welcome your contribution to their livestock’s food supply.
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Jessica Damiano writes weekly gardening columns for the AP and publishes the award-winning Weekly Dirt Newsletter. You can sign up here for weekly gardening tips and advice.
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