I was hoping for some feedback - the local Home Depot has live x-mas
trees in their lot, and they usually go on clearance about now.

I'm wondering if these are dead trees standing, though, because they
have them completely unprotected, just sitting out on the pavement.
Some are in pots, some are balled and burlap. We've had quite a few
nights in the teens here in Western PA. The trees look OK, but I have
to suspect the rootballs have frozen through and through.

They're mostly Frasier Firs, Blue Spruce, and White Pine.

Thanks for any advice,
Seth

wrote in message
ups.com...
I was hoping for some feedback - the local Home Depot has live x-mas
trees in their lot, and they usually go on clearance about now.

I'm wondering if these are dead trees standing, though, because they
have them completely unprotected, just sitting out on the pavement.
Some are in pots, some are balled and burlap. We've had quite a few
nights in the teens here in Western PA. The trees look OK, but I have
to suspect the rootballs have frozen through and through.

They're mostly Frasier Firs, Blue Spruce, and White Pine.

Thanks for any advice,
Seth


Seth, They should be okay still... But is you notice, most places that
normally garuntee their trees or shrubs will not garruntee live xmas (BTW I
have a heck of a time spelling guarantee) trees.

The trick is to store them in a sheltered unheated location, don't bring
them in until about a week before Christmas, Keep them in a large tub filled
with damp shredded mulch or peat moss and have the hole dug and ready and
get them in the ground the morning following Christmas..

There will still be a higher than normal mortality rate on the live trees,
with the White Pine being slightly more "delicate" than the fir or the
spruce.

Hope this helps,
Anthony D.
Ky Nursery and Landscape Association
Certified KY Nurseryman

"Anthony B" wrote in message
...

wrote in message
ups.com...
I was hoping for some feedback - the local Home Depot has live x-mas
trees in their lot, and they usually go on clearance about now.

I'm wondering if these are dead trees standing, though, because they
have them completely unprotected, just sitting out on the pavement.
Some are in pots, some are balled and burlap. We've had quite a few
nights in the teens here in Western PA. The trees look OK, but I have
to suspect the rootballs have frozen through and through.

They're mostly Frasier Firs, Blue Spruce, and White Pine.

Thanks for any advice,
Seth


Seth, They should be okay still... But is you notice, most places that
normally garuntee their trees or shrubs will not garruntee live xmas (BTW
I have a heck of a time spelling guarantee) trees.

The trick is to store them in a sheltered unheated location, don't bring
them in until about a week before Christmas, Keep them in a large tub
filled with damp shredded mulch or peat moss and have the hole dug and
ready and get them in the ground the morning following Christmas..

There will still be a higher than normal mortality rate on the live trees,
with the White Pine being slightly more "delicate" than the fir or the
spruce.

Hope this helps,
Anthony D.
Ky Nursery and Landscape Association
Certified KY Nurseryman



Can you offer any guidance to the OP about which of the varieties he
mentioned might have needles which double as lethal weapons? He might want
to avoid that, depending on where he's going to plant the tree eventually.
I've got some sort of dart-throwing monster in my yard. The needles actually
embed themselves in the centers of lettuce & other leafy plants. They get
stuck in the intake grill of my truck, and laugh at the shop-vac's efforts
to remove them, even when they're standing vertically in the holes (not
wedged sideways). The tree itself is gorgeous, and is one reason the house
is nice a cool in the summer. Otherwise, I'd murder it.

"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...

"Anthony B" wrote in message
...

wrote in message
ups.com...
I was hoping for some feedback - the local Home Depot has live x-mas
trees in their lot, and they usually go on clearance about now.

I'm wondering if these are dead trees standing, though, because they
have them completely unprotected, just sitting out on the pavement.
Some are in pots, some are balled and burlap. We've had quite a few
nights in the teens here in Western PA. The trees look OK, but I have
to suspect the rootballs have frozen through and through.

They're mostly Frasier Firs, Blue Spruce, and White Pine.

Thanks for any advice,
Seth


Seth, They should be okay still... But is you notice, most places that
normally garuntee their trees or shrubs will not garruntee live xmas
(BTW I have a heck of a time spelling guarantee) trees.

The trick is to store them in a sheltered unheated location, don't bring
them in until about a week before Christmas, Keep them in a large tub
filled with damp shredded mulch or peat moss and have the hole dug and
ready and get them in the ground the morning following Christmas..

There will still be a higher than normal mortality rate on the live
trees, with the White Pine being slightly more "delicate" than the fir or
the spruce.

Hope this helps,
Anthony D.
Ky Nursery and Landscape Association
Certified KY Nurseryman



Can you offer any guidance to the OP about which of the varieties he
mentioned might have needles which double as lethal weapons? He might want
to avoid that, depending on where he's going to plant the tree eventually.
I've got some sort of dart-throwing monster in my yard. The needles
actually embed themselves in the centers of lettuce & other leafy plants.
They get stuck in the intake grill of my truck, and laugh at the
shop-vac's efforts to remove them, even when they're standing vertically
in the holes (not wedged sideways). The tree itself is gorgeous, and is
one reason the house is nice a cool in the summer. Otherwise, I'd murder
it.
Dart throwing critters, Huh,Doug? I am sure you are serious, but it does
seem funny in a way.

Seth, If you think you may have dart throwing monsters in YOUR yard, I would
steer clear of the Blue Spruces.. They have large,stiff, very pointy needles
just right for use by dart throwing monsters.

AnthonyB.

"Anthony B" wrote in message
...

"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...

"Anthony B" wrote in message
...

wrote in message
ups.com...
I was hoping for some feedback - the local Home Depot has live x-mas
trees in their lot, and they usually go on clearance about now.

I'm wondering if these are dead trees standing, though, because they
have them completely unprotected, just sitting out on the pavement.
Some are in pots, some are balled and burlap. We've had quite a few
nights in the teens here in Western PA. The trees look OK, but I have
to suspect the rootballs have frozen through and through.

They're mostly Frasier Firs, Blue Spruce, and White Pine.

Thanks for any advice,
Seth


Seth, They should be okay still... But is you notice, most places that
normally garuntee their trees or shrubs will not garruntee live xmas
(BTW I have a heck of a time spelling guarantee) trees.

The trick is to store them in a sheltered unheated location, don't bring
them in until about a week before Christmas, Keep them in a large tub
filled with damp shredded mulch or peat moss and have the hole dug and
ready and get them in the ground the morning following Christmas..

There will still be a higher than normal mortality rate on the live
trees, with the White Pine being slightly more "delicate" than the fir
or the spruce.

Hope this helps,
Anthony D.
Ky Nursery and Landscape Association
Certified KY Nurseryman



Can you offer any guidance to the OP about which of the varieties he
mentioned might have needles which double as lethal weapons? He might
want to avoid that, depending on where he's going to plant the tree
eventually. I've got some sort of dart-throwing monster in my yard. The
needles actually embed themselves in the centers of lettuce & other leafy
plants. They get stuck in the intake grill of my truck, and laugh at the
shop-vac's efforts to remove them, even when they're standing vertically
in the holes (not wedged sideways). The tree itself is gorgeous, and is
one reason the house is nice a cool in the summer. Otherwise, I'd murder
it.
Dart throwing critters, Huh,Doug? I am sure you are serious, but it does
seem funny in a way.

Seth, If you think you may have dart throwing monsters in YOUR yard, I
would steer clear of the Blue Spruces.. They have large,stiff, very pointy
needles just right for use by dart throwing monsters.

AnthonyB.


Maybe that's what I've got. In all fairness, it wasn't the tree's fault - it
was mine. The only place I could locate my vegetable garden was in a spot
which is downwind of the tree, relative to the prevailing October wind. Just
when lettuce and other greens are getting really tasty, the tree also thinks
it's time to drop needles. The wind slings them right into the hearts of the
plants. No more simply washing lettuce - they need to be un-darted. :-)

"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...

Maybe that's what I've got. In all fairness, it wasn't the tree's fault -
it was mine. The only place I could locate my vegetable garden was in a
spot which is downwind of the tree, relative to the prevailing October
wind. Just when lettuce and other greens are getting really tasty, the
tree also thinks it's time to drop needles. The wind slings them right
into the hearts of the plants. No more simply washing lettuce - they need
to be un-darted. :-)

I can see how a lettuce head full of conifer needles could be a pain
(literally and figuratively) . Perhaps you may want to cover your lettue bed
with some row cover to keep the needles out of the heads? that should fix
the problem much more easily than having to resort to bieng rid of the tree.

"Anthony B" wrote in message
...

"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...

Maybe that's what I've got. In all fairness, it wasn't the tree's fault -
it was mine. The only place I could locate my vegetable garden was in a
spot which is downwind of the tree, relative to the prevailing October
wind. Just when lettuce and other greens are getting really tasty, the
tree also thinks it's time to drop needles. The wind slings them right
into the hearts of the plants. No more simply washing lettuce - they need
to be un-darted. :-)

I can see how a lettuce head full of conifer needles could be a pain
(literally and figuratively) . Perhaps you may want to cover your lettue
bed with some row cover to keep the needles out of the heads? that should
fix the problem much more easily than having to resort to bieng rid of the
tree.

I came up with a good solution. I already keep the rows covered with big
U-shaped tunnels made of fence wire, to prevent visits by deer, rabbits,
etc. I'm going to cover the tunnels with window screen. I'd never take down
the tree. I can't imagine how many tons of air conditioning its shade is
equal to.

Thanks Anthony, Doug,

I picked up three - two Frasier Firs and one of the dreaded Blue
Spruces. The pines looked too weathered. The ones I got are in giant
plastic pots, not burlap, so I'm hoping they're OK. I kicked a couple
of the burlap ones, and it was like kicking steel.

Cheers,
Seth