Talk:Christmas Tree

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[edit] What to do with your tree after the holiday

Sink it in a pond - make sure you ask the owner first!

To be fair, we do something like this; I chuck it over the hedge. Don't worry, we own the other side too: it's a short piece of wild ground and I like to think it provides something for the little critters over the year. Of course, if it was an indigenous species it could do a lot more for a lot more critters! Still.

I noticed last year that it disappeared soon after I chucked it. I suspected the neighbour dragged it off to help fuel another bonfire - I don't know why some people are obsessed with burning stuff in their garden, but there you go. Half these people don't appear to know how to keep a fire anyway - all smoke and no flame. I do, as it happens, but then, like Kung-Fu grand masters, those who truly know their art don't always feel the need to prove it. ha, ha. Seriously though, if you've got a lot of pernicious, perennial weeds, a good fire is what's needed to cook them down for fertilizer.

If you have an open fire, wood burning stove, or solid fuel Aga, you can burn it for heat. The cut branches make good kindling, the resin makes them go up like a rocket! We used to have a wood stove - pine cones, collected in autumn, make good fire starters too, store well, and look rather pretty kept in a wicker basket beside the fire.

[edit] Breaking with tradition

(Actually, it's not all that old a tradition, the tree - 18th & 19th century, I believe)

Are there any indigenous alternatives? The Norwegian Spruce (lovely plumage) is quick growing like most trees used, which suits the christmas tree business but, perhaps, not the eco-sensible consumer. What about Yew or Box which are evergreen yet grow slowly? Also they can be pruned maintaining a suitable size for the living room or hall, and kept outside in a planter for the rest of the year.

Once it's got all the balls on, who will know? Who will care enough to complain?!

Any other alternative trees or shrubs you can think of?