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Published on 12/23/03

What will you do with your Christmas tree now?

By Mike Isbell
University of Georgia

There were plenty of presents under our Christmas tree. But I can't recall anybody getting one from Santa. Maybe he didn't stop at our house.

Maybe he didn't like our artificial tree. Well, it almost looked real to me. And I don't have to keep the thing watered to keep it looking fresh. When we take it down, I'll just put it back in the box for next year.

Now don't get me wrong. I like real Christmas trees. We just don't have one. But if you do, what are you going to do with it when you take it down? I hope it won't end up stripped of its holiday frills and dumped on the side of the road or next to the garbage can.

Your tree doesn't have to meet this fate. Instead, its branches can become home to fish or wildlife, or you can use parts of it to help beautify your house or yard.

What to do?

Submerged Christmas trees in ponds make excellent homes for fish. Small insects and other natural food collect on the needles and boughs of the tree. This attracts small fish to feed, then the small fish attract bigger fish.

You can simply toss the tree into the water, but you'll get better results if you weight it down and submerge the tree upright. Just make sure it's completely under water.

If you don't have a pond, use your tree to help out little creatures on land. Christmas trees can be stacked in the woods as brush piles for rabbits and small rodents to use for cover.

Trees can be turned into mulch, too, and the mulch added to a compost pile. Composted for eight months to a year, it can then be used to improve the soil in your garden. Or you can use the chips and needles now as a mulch around shrubs and flowers.

And if you can't or don't want to do that, at least put the tree someplace where it can help prevent erosion.

What you do with your tree may have little to do with what Christmas really means to you. But being a good steward can't hurt anything.

(Mike Isbell is the Heard County Extension Coordinator with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.)

Mike Isbell is the Heard County extension coordinator with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Experts/Sources:
Mike Isbell
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