UKC

Last year we experimented with getting a tree in a pot which, in theory, could be planted out still in the pot, then dug out and re-used as a Christmas tree each year.  It died after a few months, despite attentive ministrations with the watering can.

Anyone had any success with 'reusable' trees and what are the pitfalls for the unwary ?

I think the key is keep it in the pot outside, but don’t plant it. As and when it outgrows the pot, just repot it. I’m sure someone more green fingered than me will have more sage advice. 

Yes, lots. We get ours down from the loft every year and clip it together in December, then fold it away in Jan. Doesn't seem to mind being kept in the dark and never watered.

Maybe but it wouldn't be very relevant to Christmas trees. 

Put this in the back end of the turkey

Buy early, water well and keep outside till the last minute. Water daily in the house and keep away from radiators, ideally in as cool room.

We bought one very late last year and it had clearly not been watered at all, after Christmas I removed from the pot and planted direct in the garden. Did survive, but it's mostly dead sticks rather than green foliage and will need several years to green up to the point of being invited back onto the house. Obviously an unusually dry summer didn't do it any favours either, but the poor thing was horribly pot bound and at the very least deserved upgrading to a much larger pot.

Back as a child parents always used to buy rooted trees, they held their needles better than cut but rarely survived for a second Christmas. TBH really not sure they are worth the extra money, although one memorable year we dug up an old tree from the allotment and it wouldnt fit in the car, so was lonvingly carried home (a reasonable walk and all uphill) still with rootball intact. 9' ceilings and we had to cut over a foot off before it would fit in the house and even then the poor fairy was banging her head on the ceiling.

The real trick is to leave all the decorations and lights on and wrap it in clingfilm before you put it away. Instant tree next year. Probably not suitable for real trees though.

I tried MrsD out with that idea; no dice I'm afraid. 

Years ago I had a Christmas tree, I'm pretty sure it was a Fraser Fir. It looked pretty mangy but I thought I'd have a go at planting at the end of the garden. It didn't look happy, pretty much bald and dead, almost no green needles but I never got round to dig it up and throw it away. About 2 or 3 years of being on death's door it changed its mind and perked up another year or two of looking healthy but doing nothing much it suddenly decided it was going to grow like Jack's beanstalk. Last December I had to chop the top 7 foot out of the top as it was too big. The Mrs didn't want it indoors as she didn't want needles everywhere and insisted I put up the plastic tree we keep in the loft but the kitten (about 4 months old) wouldn't relent from jumping into the plastic tree to climb it and get to the decorations. I put the fake one back in the loft and brought my 7 foot Fraser Fir inside, too spiky, the cat had to retreat! The tree has regrown that 7 foot and I'm thinking of cutting it again for this year but the shape isn't great it'd make a 3 pronged tree

Generalisation as will vary with lots of things, but stress is the problem/enemy whilst indoors.

Buy true pot grown (some are sold in pots but weren’t pot grown - avoid). Buy early to get it used to your garden/weather first ideally in the most favourable position in the lead up to taking in. Pot grown should be kept in pot, but repotted annual or as necessary with growth. Be aware though Christmas trees don’t naturally like being potted so will only survive maybe five years if treated well, though they could then be planted in garden and may do well there for many more years. Pick your species/cultivar carefully for what you want.

Minimal time in house; forget the twelve days of Christmas and think Christmas Eve for 2/3 days max if at all possible esp if room temp high; and a week to 10 days if you must in cooler rooms. Put in as cool a room as possible, avoid rapid temp changes and avoid high temps so never near radiators, fires, wood burners. If you want to keep in house for two weeks say, you’ll have to accept it is unlikely to survive to long. It will have been preparing for winter and it will be shocked by the changes so weaker when put outside.

Bottom water, not top, cover top of pot with towel etc to minimise the top drying too quick c/w the rest of the pot. Water “well” (as in saucer/container) needs to be checked daily or more topping up as necessary, but avoid too much of root ball being below the water level. Make sure the pot is well watered before bringing into the house (drying winds, low humidity outside could have dried root ball a lot). Any period, even very short, of under or over watering could cause premature death.

Reasonably light location, keep humidity up if possible around and near the tree. Avoid household chemicals/sprays in room as much as possible near tree.

Avoid putting tree straight back out from room temp to frost, general cold, wind, etc. as that will stress it also. Acclimatise again - use fleece or other protection, put in greenhouse, around the side out of wind, etc for a period of time and more so if the weather is worse than it was before it was taken indoors.

Good luck. 

Thanks for the pointers !

The most likely problem with that is the pot even in soil will cause the tree to be water stressed as it will not be getting enough water naturally from rain. If you want to do that, you should be watering regularly and all year directly into the pot (making sure the water is actually draining through the pot and not just spilling over to surrounding soil). The drier the weather the more you need to water the pot and ensure the water is actual wetting the whole root ball.

Edit: sorry I see you did say you were watering. Probably not enough getting right through the pot. Potted trees in summer need a lot of water.

We usually get 3 Christmasses from a potted tree. 

Re-pot into something bigger asap. Move it indoors gradually (sheltered bit of the garden for a few days, cool bit of the house for a while and then finally into the living room. Same in reverse for going back out). Keep in the living room just over Christmas and new year week. 

We never plant ours, just keep it in a roomy pot. In summer, keep in shady spot and water well all through. 

We have managed to plant out into some local waste ground after 3 years with some success. They won't go on forever being brought into the house. 3 years seems about right.

A reusable tree is a reusable con.  You'll have a miserable tree the first year, a miserable semi dead tree in the garden all year and a dead or dying tree on the 2nd year. Each subsequent year is more miserable.

I like to think of Christmas trees as a carbon cycle.

We buy a cut tree from a very local (handful of miles) tree farm and drive electric miles to get it. The once if has performed it's cheerful duty it gets cut up and dries out to provide warmth and cheer the following year in the log burner.

It's not perfectly local carbon neutral due to the electric miles driven and also the small amount of hydrocarbons for the chainsaw. But it is close.

The important bit is not to let on to the new tree that its new home is warm due to the incineration of its one year older cousin. They have enough to contend with after having their toes chopped off without this extra bad news.

You might appreciate this one.

youtube.com/watch?v=Xl6MmDoFbIc&

I plant mine out and dig it up again each year. Generally, pines like lots of water but not to sit in it - ie heavy rainfall but well draining (think of a hillside). Luckily I have a good spot in the garden which fulfills this criteria.

I bought a cheap Aldi tree in a pot in 2018. Thought may as well try and keep it going but didn't expect much. Have re-planted it into a bigger pot and just pop it outside come January. It's lasted well, there's always new shoots come summer and it's even a little less wonky that it was! 

Looking forward to welcoming 'Norby' back into the house in a few weeks' time. Due a bigger pot soon, so he can keep up with the wife's decoration buying habbit.

That shouldn't be difficult, as apparently everyone on UKC lives in a fridge!

We have a self-made one - local farmer planted a load then offered 'dig your own' a few years later.  We got a little stumpy one because it was the same height as our young daughter (age 4?) and we wanted to see who grew fastest . We put it in a pot about 50-60cm diameter from the local garden centre which I can only just about move round - probably weighs 50kg or more. The root ball nearly filled the pot.  We've had it 4 years now and it has hardly grown, but equally looks no worse.  We put it inside the first couple of Christmases and had no problems with losing water - it takes a lot of heat to evaporate that amount of water. We've been away the last couple of Christmases so it's stayed outside.

Thanks for the experiences.  On the basis of replies so far, I'll have another go this year but replant to a much bigger pot than the tree came in last time.