6 Uses for Your Real Christmas Tree After the Holidays

Keep the Holiday Alive

Nothing is more festive than a locally grown, freshly cut Christmas tree filling your home with smells of forest and holiday. But by the end of December or early January, it’s more eyesore than centerpiece, littering your carpet with dead needles. This year, instead of kicking the tree to the curb as everyone else does, repurpose it in your yard —and watch as birds, insects and perennials reap the winter benefits. Here’s a look at some of the most popular kinds of Christmas tree species.

Insulate Perennials

Cut or saw off branches from them tree and layer them flat over your perennial beds as winter mulch. Even if snow already blankets the ground, the branches add an extra layer of protection from fluctuating winter temperatures, says Vijai Pandian, a horticulture specialist with the Milwaukee County (Wisconsin) extension. Use only local trees, as the greens from other areas can carry pests. Here’s how to care for the most popular Christmas flowers.

Make Bean Poles

After you cut off branches, place the trunk in the garden as a pole for beans, cucumbers or other climbing vegetables, says Debbie  Kopydlowski, a Milwaukee County master gardener volunteer. If you have multiple trees, angle trunks together like a tepee. The idea also works well for flowers like morning glories or black-eyed Susan vines. If your Christmas tree is dying here’s how to fix it.

Create A Heritage Fence

Save your tree, and maybe your neighbor’s, from the landfill by building a unique barrier. Remove tree branches, cut the trunks into equal lengths and use the sections as fence posts around your garden. You can also pile the trunks and branches as section dividers in the garden, between, for example, leafy greens and ornamentals. Here are cool traditional Christmas tree alternatives.

Feed Birds and House Pollinators

What could be better for backyard birds than a tree strung with food? Debbie recommends placing your tree outside and decorating it with strings of popcorn, berries, citrus fruits, or suet packets made from seeds and peanut butter. Drill 1-inch holes in the trunk for pollinating insects to use for eggs and larvae. Remember to remove all tinsel and decorations.

Replant for the Future

Go to the garden center for a live tree, and decorate it in your house before planting it outside after Christmas, suggests master  gardener volunteer Pat Nylen. You will have a pretty tree for the holidays and beyond. Just be sure to dig a hole before the ground freezes to make planting easier. Keep your Christmas tree fire-safe by keeping it watered.

Nourish Your Soil

Chop up the trunk and branches for compost or, at minimum, keep the needles to mix in with your soil. They add to the acidity. Here are 12 quirky Christmas traditions you might want to try.

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