West Virginia Wildlife from Eyewitness News

Live Christmas Tree

Enhance your landscape, plant your Christmas tree.

December 5, 2007
Reporter: Patrick McMurtry
Videographer: Brad Rice

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Tis' the season....The holidays are here and it's time to start thinking about your christmas tree. For many, that means a live tree but before you buy, there are some things you should know that will help that live tree live in your yard.

Tom Vasale/Tom's Word Horticulture says:
"If you look down at the root ball, look at how nicely porportioned that is. If you were to measure the diameter of the trunk, you'll see that it is 1-2" and that means for a proper root ball, you need one 18-24". One foot of root ball diameter for each inch of trunk diameter is a good balance and the chance of this tree surviving is really good."

When you drop a hundred bucks on a live tree, you definitely want it to survive. It's really heartbreaking to watch a christmas tree you transplanted die in your yard.

So tom has some things you definitely want to avoid when it comes to picking out a live tree.

Tom Vasale/Tom's Word Horticulture says:
'Some of the trees that you'll see are improperly dug andyou'll see a very small root ball and you'll see large stubs that have been cut off and are poking against that burlap and you know that all the feeder roots have been cut off, too. You'll probably have less than a 50% chance of that tree surviving in your landscape."

Landscape. That's important to remember. There's a whole lot more to ensuring your tree survives for decades to come than just picking out the right tree.

Whether you're planting one of these nice spruce trees or a good looking white pine, you need to remember that while this tree is manageable now, it's going to be 10 times this size so you need to pick out the right spot to plant it.

Tom Vasale/Tom's Word Horticulture says:
"Before you go into the store, I'd decide where I was going to put the tree because these trees get really big. You can expect your tree to eventually have a spread of up to 40", so that means it should be at least 20' away from any structure."

And if you're looking to incorporate your christmas tree into your master plan to attract wildlife, tom says keep your evergreen tree far enough away from your bird feeders so cats can't find a nice hiding place to pose a threat. Evergreen trees also provide good shelter for birds year round. And remember, if you decide to use a traditional tree, the dnr puts those to good use as fish habitat-a nice holiday gift that keeps on giving. For west virginia wildlife, i'm patrick mcmurtry wishing you a merry christmas and a happy hanukkah.

LEARN MORE

W. Va. DNR

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