live christmas tree
 

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
Thanks
Gea

--
http://community.webtv.net/AveAveAlt...ROSYHEALINGFOR
©

live christmas tree
 

"Gea Jones" wrote in message
...
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
Thanks
Gea

--
http://community.webtv.net/AveAveAlt...ROSYHEALINGFOR
©


Keep it well watered and you could be lucky planting it outside .......we
had one that we even dug up each Xmas for 4 yrs then it keeled over

live christmas tree
 

"Gea Jones" wrote in message
...
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
Thanks
Gea

--
http://community.webtv.net/AveAveAlt...ROSYHEALINGFOR
©

I've heard that in a centrally heated house the tree will need up to a
gallon of water daily to prevent it becoming dehydrated and dropping all its
needles.

Steve

live christmas tree
 

On Wed, 3 Dec 2003 23:50:00 -0000, "shazzbat"
wrote:

~
~"Gea Jones" wrote in message
...
~ 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
~ Thanks
~ Gea
~
~ --
~ http://community.webtv.net/AveAveAlt...ROSYHEALINGFOR
~ ©
~
~I've heard that in a centrally heated house the tree will need up to a
~gallon of water daily to prevent it becoming dehydrated and dropping all its
~needles.

I've had a potted Christmas tree for 5 years now. We bought it as an
30" high baby (not including the pot), and it's now more than double
that. The pot size is now 45cm (18") and it's been putting on about
3-4" of height a year and about the same in width :-) Each Christmas,
close to Christmas eve, we bring it into the conservatory, hoover off
the cobwebs and probably some unsuspecting spiders, wipe the pot and
pop it in a large base. Leave it to dry a few hours then move in with
the lights and baubles. Keep well watered - we usually stick some
water in the base when turning on the lights.

One year it lost nearly all its leaves over the fortnight - to my
horror. I had been watering well. It turned out to be green spruce
aphids.
http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile...ruce_aphid.asp
It got sprayed (!) and pampered and turned back outside as soon as we
got to Twelfth Night and it grew a lot of new fronds that year. Since
then I've watched for this autumn-winter pest which can explode if
given too much warmth. This is why we now keep the tree in the cooler
(10-15C) conservatory and not the main lounge.

One day we hope to have a big enough garden to be able to plant it out
permanently. Until then, it seems quite happy being repotted every
other year. I suspect the limiting factor will be if we can still
carry it!!!


--
jane

Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone,
you may still exist but you have ceased to live.
Mark Twain

Please remove onmaps from replies, thanks!

live christmas tree
 

"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
--