Gardenbite: A second life to your cut Christmas tree | #GoodGrowing

Welcome to the Good Growing podcast. I am Chris Enroth, ortho coach educator with the University of Illinois Extension coming at you from Macomb, Illinois, and we have got a garden bite for you this week, disposing of cut Christmas trees. Well, not long after the presents are unwrapped, relatives are back home, and the outside Christmas lights in their merry twinkling, there is one more task, and that is taking down the Christmas tree. Now for some who use a fake tree, that process is simple. We simply take down the ornaments, fold the tree up like an umbrella, and store it away downstairs until next year.

But what about for the rest of us that have a cut Christmas tree in the middle of our living room? Now what? Well, growing up, my parents always got a fresh cut Christmas tree. Early in November, my dad and I would go to the nearby Christmas tree farm and tag our tree. We would then return once December arrived to cut down and haul that tree home.

Since we lived in the country, disposing of a cut tree was fairly simple. And even today, for those living in town, most municipalities have a Christmas tree disposal day. This is where you can throw out your cut Christmas tree, and the city will pick it up. However, there can be other types of second lives to our cut Christmas trees, so here are a few things you can do with your tree besides tossing it to the curb. Number one, you can create a shelter for birds.

Stake the tree up with a metal fence post near a bird feeder. Birds will use the evergreen foliage as cover as they dart back and forth to the bird feeder. If you have any outdoor house cats, do not place the tree close to any bird feeders that a stealthy feline could also use it as cover and then attack the feeder. Two, turn that cut tree into food for wildlife. This is going to be a excellent source of winter entertainment.

So there's a lot of people, they say they'll string up popcorn, pine cones smeared with with peanut butter, birdseed, cranberries, apple rings, orange slices, and they say this entices winter mammals and birds. However, I will say that I prefer to just place a few suet feeders in my shrubs and trees during the winter, and that gives me all of the feathered, frenzied flurry of activity that I so crave during the cold, bleak winter months. Number three, cut off the branches and use them as a winter mulch to protect herbaceous perennials. You can also use that bare trunk to then you can stake it up, upright, or you can lay it on the ground. Insects and other critters will go to work breaking down that trunk, and it's going to serve as an excellent source of food and habitat for the wildlife for the next couple years.

Number four, use cut evergreen branches as decoration around the house. Now outdoors, the branches will remain green for weeks, even months. Indoors, the evergreen foliage will hold its color for several days or weeks following the holidays. However, be sure that you do not place foliage near any open burning heat sources as these cut evergreen bows can go up like a Roman candle very quickly. Number five, several fishing clubs might ask homeowners or post online for people to bring their leftovercut Christmas trees to be used as fish attractors in local ponds and lakes.

So how do they get these trees to sink to the bottom of a pond? Well, the trees are connected by a cable, and then that cable is anchored by a concrete block. And then these trees are placed in about eight to 10 foot of water. And these where these trees sink, they will serve as places where small fish can hide from larger predator species. And kind of on the opposite side, some of the larger fish will also gather around the trees in hopes of an easy meal, and that's a great spot for you to throw your bait or lure to catch a good bass.

Number six, if you have access to a wood chipper or if you got what you asked for in your Christmas list, a wood chipper of your very own, you can shred your Christmas tree into mulch for your garden and landscape. Number seven, Growing up back home, we would use our cut Christmas tree to create brush piles, which would make great wildlife habitat. Brush piles provide cover for small mammals, birds, amphibians, and reptiles. Ideally, your brush pile should be six feet high, 15 to 20 feet in diameter. Locate brush piles away from buildings, preferably near field borders or woodland edges.

Make sure that you check with your local city ordinances or homeowners associations before building a brush pile. Number eight, you can use your tree as firewood, especially if you season the wood properly, and this is key. Needled evergreen trees contain lots of gum like resin, which build up creosote deposits inside chimneys if the wood is not seasoned correctly. Research from the University of Georgia reveals that the creosote buildup in chimneys is due to cool burning fires. Unseasoned or freshly cut wood burns cooler due to its higher moisture content.

As an example, a fresh cut cord of oak holds about 302 gallons of water. Season your firewood by splitting it, stacking it, and covering it up for one year. I typically will recommend folks to avoid using needled evergreen seasoned or unseasoned in an indoor fireplace. A great place for utilizing evergreen firewood is in an outdoor fire pit where you don't have to worry about the the buildup of creosote on any type of chimney. And indoors, it's always a good idea to utilize hardwood, well seasoned firewood.

Well, that was a lot of great information about what to do with your leftovercut Christmas trees. The Good Growing podcast is a production of University of Illinois Extension, edited this week by me, Chris Enroth. A big thank you to our listeners as we look towards our new year of 2024. Listeners, thank you for doing what you do best and that is listening. Happy New Year.

And as always, keep on growing.