Living Christmas tree - sustainability at Christmas time

Living Christmas tree - sustainability at Christmas time

The green alternative to the traditional Christmas tree. Hohoho!

Every year, we look forward to the beautifully decorated living room and the almost indispensable: the beautifully decorated Christmas tree! But what about the topic of sustainability? Often these are already disposed of after 2 weeks by millions of people. We'll show you a good alternative, where you can also help the environment at the same time.

The "green" alternative

Fortunately, there are more and more providers selling a living Christmas tree. What does this mean? Instead of the usual felled trees, which are often used for a few weeks only and then simply thrown with our rubbish, there is a green alternative now: a Christmas tree in the pot. The tree can, as usual, be put in the living room and with a little care and water it is ready for the Christmas celebrations.

Once the Christmas season is over and the tree is no longer needed, it will not be disposed of. You can easily bring it back (or it can be picked up again) and it can bring great joy to another person next year. However, if you own a large garden, you can plant it there and give it a permanent home. But there are so many more advantages: Because it is a living tree, it doesn’t lose its needles and keeps its lively green colour. Furthermore, this option protects our environment, avoiding for millions of trees to be cut down every year and transported across the country to be burned after Christmas.

Christmas tree in the pot

Caring for your new Christmas tree

Of course, the Christmas tree is not a simple houseplant that you should simply put in the living room without any special care.

As soon as the Christmas season approaches, the tree should not be placed directly in a warm, well-heated living room - this is where it is important to follow some key advice including acclimatisation phases. Give the tree some time to adjust and provide it with fresh air once in a while, so that it can fully recover. If possible, the tree can also be temporarily put back on the terrace or balcony. Just be careful not to expose it to excessive temperature differences.

Where do I buy a tree from?

More and more companies have specialised in sustainability and living Christmas trees. Anyone who searches the Internet will quickly find one. A provider in London area is Superplants. But it is also worthwhile keeping your eyes open and look for suitable providers near you.

Christmas tree green

What harm is caused to the environment with all those "dead" Christmas trees?

The trees are grown on plantations specifically for the occasion and no forest is being cut down, but this is anything but green. Many Christmas trees come from far and are no longer cultivated locally - countries such as Denmark takes over a large part of the supply. The trees have to travel a long distance to get to our living room. In order to be particularly attractive and uniform, pesticides are used on the trees. This is to remove all pests which could damage the trees - but is that still environmentally friendly? Definitely not. The tree is artificially used as it looks great to the eye - often without any regard to the plant world. Unfortunately, a so-called "consumerism" takes place, without questioning the real impact.

So what do I have to pay attention to when buying a tree?

Particular care should be taken with regards to the types of tree. Many do not know that a tree such as the Nordmann fir has deep roots, which rarely survive the Christmas season unscathed. How so? The fir needs enough space for its roots and cannot spread in a pot. Flat roots such as the blue spruce are better suited.

Christmas tree

Furthermore, one should be careful to buy - if possible - trees that have already been grown in a pot. Trees on large plantations, which still have to be uprooted, often have the disadvantage that their roots are injured when cutting out and the tree can no longer properly recover from this. As a result, a live tree with roots will gradually die off and a year later a new one will have to be bought.

A nice "lively" Christmas time

If you have green fingers and want to do something sustainable for the environment, then the living Christmas tree is just the right thing for you. It really only has benefits, and it can even be enjoyed throughout the year and can decorate the garden quite beautifully. As a nice side effect, the annoying vacuuming task due to the falling needles is, therefore, a thing of the past. We wish you a peaceful and sustainable Christmas!