This year when it was Christmas tree time we decided that we were going to start a new tradition. We would find a live tree, keep it for Christmas and then plant it on our land. Our hope is that we repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat (…) for a long time so that we eventually have a family of trees on the land that are both beautiful and hold special memories. After I called multiple farms and struck out, I found a nursery in Long Island that sold live Colorado Blue Spruce trees with the ball still attached. So we drove out there, picked a favorite and loaded him into the car! Our little car by the way has carried alot in it’s short life so far. (You can see the container we bought off to the right too. This will be used every year to keep the tree in.) There he stayed for a few weeks while we dressed him up and cats slept nearby. A few days after Christmas we started to plan to take him (it’s a boy) to the land but the temperature difference between inside and outside Upstate NY would be a big shock so we had to harden him off. We wrapped him up and took him to the stairwell of the roof to start getting used to the chill. He stayed there for 5 days before moving him to his final destination.
One tree coming down the hallway…… watch out! And then Matthew had the task of getting this guy up the stairs which wasn’t easy. Then we loaded him into the car and moved him Upstate. I’m sure he was confused about all the car rides. I wonder if he was confused why we tied him up and moved him to a desolate location too. Now that I think about it he was probably nervous. Or was he more nervous when he saw us digging a hole for him? Gosh, this all sounds so awful. Anyways, back to the happy story. We dug a hole for him. The top of the grass was a bit frozen but thankfully underneath it was ok. If you know you are going to do this in a location where the ground would be frozen, dig the hole in advance.
Next the tree gets picked up and put into the hole. The dirt gets spread around him. And then we watered him. Matthew hulked up and carried buckets from the stream all the way up the hill. And then he stood, Mr. Tree 2015 in his new home.
There’s some fear that he won’t make, but we’ll see in a few months and I’ll post a update. It gets really cold there so hopefully the shock won’t be that terrible. In the Spring we’ll be getting a bunch of pine trees and planting them throughout the border of the property to eventually take over for those not easy on the eyes deciduous trees that lose their leaves in the Winter. The pine trees will be the Brothers of the our Christmas trees!
So with a little hug….. good luck tree!
Full Directions on How to Plant Your Christmas Tree: Find a farm or nursery that has a live tree that has the root ball attached to it. Bring it home and place the tree in a container/bucket. Water it. It should remain watered, but never soaked. You don’t want to over water as that will cause the root to rot. The best case is to keep your live tree inside for a week max. In our case we went a few weeks but if at all possible try for a week. Try to keep your house as cool as possible. If you live in a cold place and you keep your tree in a heated 75 degree house and then suddenly expose it to 35 degrees outside it’s likely the tree will die. That means don’t place it near your heater. If at all possible, keep the heat off. Once the holiday is over move your tree to a cool location. A stairwell or garage is perfect. Keep it here for a few days. Move it outside. Dig your hole to plant the tree. It should be about 2 feet deep. If you know the ground is going to be frozen, dig it beforehand. Place your tree in the ground. If the soil is dry, water it directly in the hole. If the soil is moist, then put the dirt back in the hole with the tree, pat it up top. Then add a bucket of water on top. Step back, smile at the tree and tell it you love it. Repeat last step for the rest of your life
