A spruce takes on a beautiful conical shape and fills the room with scent, while a Nordmann fir holds onto every needle until the decorations come down. Choose a tree still sitting in a pot with its root ball and it can go out into the garden after the feast days.
Decorating it is an important part of the process, and is truly fun to work out as a family or with friends and colleagues, but the first eager step is choosing the tree itself!
Read also:
The Nordmann fir is now preferred over the famed spruce – a recent development!
Up until recently, spruce was the historical tree used for the Christmas feast. It is elegant, takes on a beautiful conical shape, and smells delicious.
However, the resilience of the Nordmann fir and the fact that it doesn’t lose its needles made it an instant winner when it appeared on the market. Even though it isn’t as fragrant, it became one of the keys to a successful Christmas.
Other tree varieties are sometimes harder to find, but they’re beautiful, too:
The Nordmann fir and the spruce dominate the market, but several other conifers are sold as Christmas trees. Here is what each one offers, according to the article.
| Tree | Look of the needles | Scent |
|---|---|---|
| Nordmann fir | Holds onto its needles | Not as fragrant |
| Spruce | Beautiful conical shape | Smells delicious |
| ‘Omorika’ | Silvery shimmering leaves | Not mentioned |
| Nobilis | Blueish hues | Not mentioned |
| Korean | Green and silver needles | Not mentioned |
| Grandis | Very dense bearing | Strong and agreeable |
| Pungens | Long, prickly needles | Very fragrant |
Whichever species you settle on, the way it is sold — cut at the base or potted with its root ball — matters just as much.
Christmas trees cut at the stump is the most common form. It certainly is very convenient and doesn’t take up much space.
A Christmas tree bought with its root clump in a pot is the only one that survives transplanting in the garden. It is often selected specifically for this reason.
A natural Christmas tree has the advantage of being more respectful of our planet.
Apart from the fact that it must be transported from the store to your house, it is produced and grown specifically for the Christmas season.
Artificial Christmas trees use raw materials sourced from the petroleum industry. These are non-renewable materials that pollute our planet during production, transportation, disposal even when recycling.
They’re often made in countries where human rights are trampled over and exploitation is rampant. Workers making the trees may be forbidden from celebrating Christmas themselves, or their wages might not even allow them to purchase it in the first place. In a way, many artificial Christmas trees are the opposite of what they help celebrate!
No: there is a lot of value in connecting to nature. Going to pick a real tree is a chance for all children! These trees grow locally in responsibly managed forests. Their purpose is to help remind us that Christmas celebrates a special moment: everlasting life enters the world that day!
Yes, it is possible to do this if it is in a pot with its root ball. You can plant it in the ground after Christmas.
Best if it doesn’t stay for too long indoors, in your house.
Plant it just after the feast days, preferably on a day when it’s not freezing.
If you replant your tree and use it again in the following year, you’ll be compounding your support of the environment!
Water the root ball thoroughly before you plant.
It’s very important that, after it has brought the whole family joy, you give your Christmas tree an honorable resting place. This might be a specialized composting center, but you can also slowly add it to your own family compost outside.
That way, it’ll go back to fertilizing the soil.
Merry Christmas!
Strip off every hook, light strand and shred of tinsel before the tree goes for composting.
