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SALT LAKE CITY -- The trend to be more green has made its way into the realm of Christmas trees. There's a debate over what is more environmentally friendly: a fake tree that can be used year after year or a cut tree grown at a Christmas tree farm that can be composted.
A third option that's gaining momentum is the living Christmas tree. It's a tree complete with a root ball purchased from a nursery that is designed for planting in the yard later, but it's used first in your house as a Christmas tree.
Some companies on the West Coast have taken the concept even further and are renting living trees for people to use in their homes.
However, some local tree experts say putting a tree in your house for Christmas that is meant for your yard usually doesn't end the way people want it to.
"We have a lot of people who are interested in that because it's so environmentally friendly, it's a nice idea," said Tina Cerling at the Salt Lake City Western Garden Center. "It's not very practical. You're pretty much in trouble if you think you're going to have a live tree in your house for more than four of five days and then plant it outside and have it live."
Cerling says trees in Utah are in a dormant mode in order to survive the cold temperatures through the winter. Putting the tree inside the house, he said, tricks the tree into thinking it's spring time and it wakes back up. Cerling says the tree often dies if it's then placed back outside in the cold to be planted.
The Western Garden Center does have suggestions for those who still want to try having a living tree even after learning about the potential downsides. They say there needs to be a transition period where the tree gets acclimatized to warmer temperatures. The suggestion is to keep the tree in the garage a week prior to moving it inside. The process should then be reversed when moving the tree back to the yard.
They also say the hole the tree will be planted in should be dug well in advance before the ground is frozen.
Once the living tree makes it into the house, Cerling suggests keeping it in the coolest place possible, away from heating vents, and use LED lights that don't produce much heat. The cooler you can keep the tree, the better its chances of survival.
The tree should also be watered with ice water to keep the root ball cold. It should not be left in the house much longer than four days.
When the tree is planted outside after it has been put back in the garage for a week to cool it back down, it must be watered periodically to keep the soil slightly moist.
E-mail: rjeppesen@ksl.com
