Picking, Caring for a Live Christmas Tree

My favorite Christmas tree of all time was a little live spruce that I put in a pot and decorated with cookies and strings of popcorn and cranberries. It was lit by real candles (carefully attended) in German holders and it sparkled like no other tree since. When the holidays were over, I put it outside and the birds got bellyaches on the stale cookies, though they seemed to enjoy themselves immensely.

Should you decide that this year you are going to have a live Christmas tree, what do you pick? And how do you keep it alive?

First, some thoughts on choosing a tree, and then some advice on caring for it during its stay in the house.

You will find two choices at nurseries--pines and spruces, Pinus and Picea . The most common is the Monterey pine (Pinus radiata) , the living Christmas tree that is the most full, to the point of looking fluffy, and the brightest green. It’s also the poorest choice for planting outdoors since Monterey pines are fast, big and prone to dying young from a host of pests and diseases. It is, however, an easy tree to keep in a container and, given a little shade and pruning, it will keep for three Christmases.

First-Class Choice

Not nearly as common, but a first-class pine for the garden is Pinus eldarica , which has no common name. In the garden it grows fast at first, to about 30 feet, then slowly to twice that. As a living Christmas tree it is pruned by the grower into a pyramidal shape, but once in the ground it grows most like a Canary Island pine, being slender with bushy needles--a very pretty tree. You may also find aleppo pines (Pinus halepensis) if you live inland or in the desert.

All of these pines have been pruned to their classic Christmas-tree shape with hedge shears--or even a machete, I’ve been told. And this you must do in subsequent years if you plan to keep them in a container, which is probably the best idea. I’ve successfully kept Monterey pines for three years, and three holiday stays in my home, by putting them on the north--somewhat shady and cool--side of the house and watering them carefully.

When the new growth begins in spring, I simply snap these emerging “candles” in half while they are just beginning, which keeps the tree small and bushy, but you can also prune the tree along with your hedges.

Pruning the Roots

I leave them in their original containers, but it’s OK to transplant them. When you do, cut off the tangled roots at the base of the dirt ball and keep the plant in the shade for a few weeks while it recovers from this root pruning.

You may also find spruces sold as living Christmas trees, mostly one called the Colorado blue spruce, for its blue-gray foliage. In my mind, these look more like the traditional Christmas trees of northern woods and they need no pruning to stay that way. But they are native to the cold mountains and will not be too happy here in Southern California. I have kept them alive--in a container--for two, once even three years, but I haven’t run across any growing in gardens. In the ground or in a container, they grow almost imperceptibly.

Most living Christmas trees seem to come with instructions for care this season (one even comes with an adoption certificate). But here are some guidelines:

Keep in a brightly lit spot, but not near a heater or fireplace or they’ll dry out quickly.

Keep indoors for no more than two weeks (one is recommended).

Surefire Drip Method

Keep watered--and here I’ll pass along the most novel but useful idea for watering one could happen across: Use ice cubes. Jan Groot at El Modeno Gardens suggested this method to me and it works. Like a super-slow drip irrigation system, the cubes slowly melt and the water gets a chance to soak into the soil rather than simply run around the sides of the root ball and out the bottom. A quart of ice cubes at a time is recommended for most 4- to 5-foot trees.

When you bring the tree back outdoors, rinse off the foliage and leave the needles wet.

Don’t put it right into the sunlight; let it adjust by starting it in shade and moving it into ever more light until it gets about half shade and half light.

Water it thoroughly by letting the hose trickle inside the container for an hour, to make sure all the soil is moistened.

And remember to prune that emerging growth, or next yuletide it won’t fit in the house.