There’s something magical about a potted Christmas tree. Maybe it’s the fact that they stay fresh for much longer than a cut tree. Or even knowing you can grow them for years to come. Whatever your reasons may be, the potted Christmas tree has become quite popular in recent years. This is great news if you love them as much as we do. But isn’t all this information what you already knew? You might need some pointers on how to care for your potted Christmas tree, making it last for years to come. Read on to find out more…
Choosing the Best Potted Christmas Tree
Potted Christmas trees are the best eco-friendly option and a great way to save money in the long term. But there are so many different ones to choose from; what type of potted Christmas tree should you choose?
Unfortunately there is no, one size fits all, type of answer. Each tree has its own advantages and disadvantages, it’s more about choosing the best one for you. Below we have listed the potted Christmas trees that we sell, and the advantages and disadvantages that come with that tree.
Contemporary Christmas Tree – Circa
Celebrate in style with these contemporary trees. With a scent of pine, this is a stylish and modern tree. These offer a pyramidal form in deep green foliage. Perfect for bringing in the house for a corner table or atop a bay window, this tree is very good at retaining its needles. Or perhaps flanking the entrance or doorway outside, combined with other festive plants adding an extra Christmassy welcome to your home. We sell a variety of sizes in these, but our most popular is supplied at around 70-80cm overall. Once the festivities are over, place outside on the patio or plant in the garden to enjoy throughout the year and for many Christmas times to come.
Fresh Christmas Tree – Potted Norway Spruce – Wills Dwarf
The Spruce is a high-quality traditional Christmas tree. This tree has the perfect shape and style for Christmas decorations. This compact form of traditional Norway Spruce, known as Wills Zwerg (Wills Dwarf), will grow to about 6-10 ft in 10 years and grow well in all gardens.
Blue Cone Korean Fir – Abies Koreana
Here is something different that you can use as a Christmas tree in the same way as a Non-Drop Nordman Fir, with the bonus of having a gorgeous garden tree to plant after the festivities. It’s a very rewarding, slow-growing conifer with glossy, green needles, silver-coloured on the underside, that produces attractive violet-blue cones. Even young trees can be attractively adorned with pretty, violet-blue cones. An elegant, pyramidal growing habit in the garden makes it a highly decorative and desirable tree.
Fresh ‘Little Santa’ Super-green Christmas Tree – Spruce
This Super Green Spruce is a high-quality, traditional, fragrant Christmas tree. Many people love a classic natural real tree as a bright focal point to the festivities but do not have room for a full-size tree – enter Little Santa! A premium quality Spruce, the Little Santa tree has the traditional Christmas Tree shape but takes up less room! With proper care, it will hardly lose any needles whilst inside for Christmas.
Top Point Mini Christmas Tree – The Chamaecyparis Thyoides
The Chamaecyparis thyoides Top Point is a conical-shaped compact conifer; with the appearance of a Mini Christmas Tree. As a bonus in the garden, the foliage turns wine-red in winter. It is ideal for small rockeries and containers if you choose to use it out of doors.
Caring for a Potted Christmas Tree Over the Festive Season
It is essential to keep the soil moist and top up the water when it starts to dry-out. You can use ice cubes to slowly water your tree by placing several ice cubes on the soil. Remember to acclimate your tree slowly, this can be done by putting the tree on a porch or conservatory before bringing it indoors. Keep your tree away from radiators or other heat sources to protect your tree. We also suggest using a tray underneath the potted tree to catch excess water that escapes after watering. If you plan to plant your tree after Christmas; in mid-December dig a hole where you with to plant the tree (the hole should be wider than the tree). “We recommend doing this in mid-December when the soil is easier to dig, instead of January when the ground is likely to be frozen,” says Chris Bonnett, a gardening expert for The Express.
Caring for a Potted Christmas Tree After the Festive Season
Once Christmas is over, you can carefully remove any decorations and lights from your trees. Make sure to keep watering your tree, making sure the soil is moist at all times.
If Planting in the Ground
If you choose to plant your potted tree in the ground after the festive season is over, check that the hole you dug in December is ok; if needed, re-dig the hole. To help your tree adjust to the temperature change, take out the tree during the day and store it indoors at night to protect it from frost. When the weather improves, it is time to plant.
Remove the tree from the pot, untangle its roots at the edges to encourage root growth and place it into the hole. Add a little extra soil to the bottom of the hole so that the tree is slightly elevated from surface level to prevent waterlogging. Water throughout the year so that soil does not dry out and, when possible, protect your tree from harsh weather conditions.
If Keeping in the Pot
Short on space to keep your tree? You can move the tree from the current pot to a bigger pot after each festive season. Keep the tree outside during the year, keeping its soil moist but well-drained.
Ready for Next Winter
Once the festive time rolls around again, you can carefully dig up the tree you planted and place it in a larger pot than the year before. A bigger pot is always better than a small one as a small one can cause root damage. When bringing indoors, repeat the steps taken when you first brought the Christmas trees. After several years, the tree may have grown too large to bring indoors, this is ok as you can now keep it outdoors and place lights around it each year.
