"Gea Jones" wrote in
:

in pot, I saw one in my local shop, well a few, it isn't very big, but
looks nice, any advice?I want to have it indoors , decorate it, then
take it out after christmas

If it's a Norway Spruce (standard sort of christmas tree) it's not a
great idea. It should do OK for the first year, but they grow very
fast, so if you plant it out you get a big and rather ugly tree quite
quickly.

They don't seem to do too well as bonsai if you bring them indoors (I do
have an outdoor bonsai Norway Spruce, and that is fine, but the heat
does for them if you repeatedly bring them indoors and they start to
look decidedly manky).

I also tried a couple of dwarf conifers: same result. They survive, but
they never look as good after a year or so.

If you do buy one, check the soil and make sure it hasn't dried out or
been kept in a hot shop for too long. If it has, you'll get needle drop
even if you water it as soon as you get it home.

Having tried the 'living tree' thing, I now go for a cut Nordmann fir or
Noble Fir - they hold their needles much better than Norway Spruces and
there are rarely more than a handful to sweep up on 12th night. And if
you are into woodcarving, like me, the wood is quite nice and you can
make Christmas decorations out of it for next year!

(I used to feel odd about the idea of felling a tree just for
decoration, then someone pointed out that I didn't object to someone
'felling' sprouts and potatoes for lunch and a christmas tree is exactly
the same kind of commercial crop - just one that takes a few more years
to mature.)

Alternatively, you can always decorate pot-plants, which like being
indoors anyway. 'Money trees' ( Crassula ovata) seem to be designed for
baubles, and I also decorate my cycas revoluta. It looks ridiculous,
like a pineapple going to a party, but it make me laugh, and it doesn't
seem to mind.

Victoria
--
gardening on a north-facing hill
in South-East Cornwall
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