By Mike Isbell
University of Georgia
There were plenty of presents under our Christmas tree. But I
can’t recall anybody getting one from Santa. Maybe he didn’t stop
at our house.
Maybe he didn’t like our artificial tree. Well, it almost looked
real to me. And I don’t have to keep the thing watered to keep it
looking fresh. When we take it down, I’ll just put it back in the
box for next year.
Now don’t get me wrong. I like real Christmas trees. We just
don’t have one. But if you do, what are you going to do with it
when you take it down? I hope it won’t end up stripped of its
holiday frills and dumped on the side of the road or next to the
garbage can.
Your tree doesn’t have to meet this fate. Instead, its branches
can become home to fish or wildlife, or you can use parts of it
to help beautify your house or yard.
What to do?
Submerged Christmas trees in ponds make excellent homes for fish.
Small insects and other natural food collect on the needles and
boughs of the tree. This attracts small fish to feed, then the
small fish attract bigger fish.
You can simply toss the tree into the water, but you’ll get
better results if you weight it down and submerge the tree
upright. Just make sure it’s completely under water.
If you don’t have a pond, use your tree to help out little
creatures on land. Christmas trees can be stacked in the woods as
brush piles for rabbits and small rodents to use for cover.
Trees can be turned into mulch, too, and the mulch added to a
compost pile. Composted for eight months to a year, it can then
be used to improve the soil in your garden. Or you can use the
chips and needles now as a mulch around shrubs and flowers.
And if you can’t or don’t want to do that, at least put the tree
someplace where it can help prevent erosion.
What you do with your tree may have little to do with what
Christmas really means to you. But being a good steward can’t
hurt anything.
(Mike Isbell is the Heard County Extension Coordinator with
the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and
Environmental Sciences.)
