This Christmas, String the Lights on a Renewable and Reusable Resource

If you're trying to decide whether to buy a real or artificial Christmas tree, don't forget to take into account the environment.

Real trees help improve air quality by producing oxygen and reducing carbon dioxide. They're also a renewable resource.

Real Christmas trees dominate the market. At least 32 million will be sold this year, most of them grown in the United States or Canada. That's a lot of air filtered during the five to 10 years those trees were being raised. And almost all of the trees cut for Christmas are replaced with seedlings that will mature into a full stand of trees.

In contrast, 85 percent of artificial trees are made in China. Most parts are not biodegradable, according to the National Christmas Tree Association, which advocates the use of real trees. It will be interesting to see what owners of artificial trees do this year in light of the recent safety problems with Chinese products. If you are concerned about the safety of artificial trees from China, use the Internet to find artificial trees made in the United States.

Almost 133,000 artificial trees were sold in the United States last year. Considering that they've been used for years and have been required in commercial establishments for decades, that adds up to a lot of potentially questionable product.

Real trees don't have to go to a landfill, another reason they are better for the environment. After trees are cut and displayed, most will biodegrade and become a rich source of compost. Discarded trees are generally picked up by local jurisdictions, chipped and added to leaves collected to make compost.

You can compost the tree yourself by pruning the limbs to the main trunk. The green needles will add nitrogen to your pile, and the thin, woody stems that the needles grow on will add carbon.

If you have a fireplace, cut the trunk into several firewood-size pieces and let it season for next fall.

Thinking 'Green'

Here are some other uses for a real tree after Christmas:

-- Protect tender shrubs, such as camellias and hydrangeas. Lay the tree between the plant and the path of the prevailing wind, which usually blows from the north or northwest in winter. You can also stand a tree to get extra ornamental value while it's protecting shrubs. Tie it to a steel or wooden support pounded into the ground. Cut it up and compost it in the spring.

-- Lay limbs as a blanket over and around plants that are subject to freeze damage. They'll protect tender shrubs such as rosemary or loropetalum, the roots of tender perennials such as hardy mum and verbena, and bulbs such as canna and dahlia. Lay them lightly, just one or two thick, over the area. Remove branches as growth begins in spring and then compost them.

-- Stand the tree near feeders as a perch for birds. You might get a bird to nest in it. Leave it undisturbed until the baby birds grow up and fly away, which gives the tree about a six-month shelf life. And, by the way, an old country adage says that a bird's nest in a Christmas tree is good luck.