A Christmas Tree is of the most visible icons of the holiday season.  The type of tree, live or cut,  has always presented a dilemma to me.  A live tree that could continue to grow and add to the beauty of the land has an aesthetic appeal to the gardener in me.  Purchasing a cut tree seems so wasteful of nature's efforts even if my practical side knows the tree was planted and natured specifically for the holiday season.

A question for fellow high altitude gardeners - have you ever purchased a live Christmas tree, decorated it for the holidays, planted it outside, and had the tree live and thrive?  I have never tried this; the obstacles seem overwhelming.

In November, the ground froze solid here in Pine, CO.  Would the hole for the tree need to be dug in October?  How would you fill the hole with dirt that is frozen?  Perhaps, you could keep the tree at near freezing in the garage and then plant it outdoors in the spring.

Would the tree need to be watered through the winter?  My outdoor faucets are the "non- freezing" type that drain within the wall so I would have water available but filling a bucket and carrying it to the tree in 10°f weather is daunting to me.

The air in our house is extremely dry due to our wood stove.  I have all my indoor plants on wick systems but still need to water them once a week.  Would a live tree be able to take up enough water to survive such dry air?  Would you spray it with some chemical to stop it from desiccating?

Perhaps, in the future we will try a live Christmas tree but not this year.  One again, my practical side ruled and we purchased a cut Christmas tree.  However, the tree will not be wasted.  After the holidays, we will use the tree to control erosion on our property.  We have positioned cut Christmas trees in our forest for years now and, as I walk around our wonderful mountain land, I often come upon one of the trees and am reminded of the holiday season.

The National Forest Service has also embarked on a way for cut trees to provide a useful function.  The NFS designates an area in the mountain forest and marks trees for cutting.  For a $15 fee per tree, people come up to the mountains and experience the pleasure of cutting their own Christmas tree.  As a consequence of this practice, the forest gets a much needed thinning.  This is both an aesthetic and a practical exercise.

Whether you have the aesthetically pleasing live tree or a practical cut tree, I hope your Christmas tree adds to the beauty and joy of the season for you and your loved ones.