Coverage Source: The Post and Courier
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Photo by Grace Beahm
By Wevonneda Minis
If your bright idea to buy and replant a living Christmas tree after the holidays never quite developed, you're not alone.
A desire to go green prompts many people to think about replanting their trees, but few actually do so.
Jim Martin, executive director of Charleston Parks Conservancy, which works to improve the quality of Charleston's parks, gets an increasing number of questions from people who have thought about replanting each year.
Martin and his partner, David Vagasky, purchase living trees and replant them each year.
"I like the idea that this beautiful green thing that was part of a celebration is going to bring happiness to many people down the road as it grows," Martin says. "It's a feel-good thing, not to mention that environmentally, it's a cool thing, a really cool thing."
A Google search of "Replanting Christmas Trees," had more than 60,000 results, suggesting that many people are interested.
Environmental organizations and university extension programs from across the country, including Clemson (see website in box), are among those that provide online tips about replanting and raising Christmas trees.
Many also say how to keep the trees alive between purchasing and replanting.
Why more don't replant
"The reason more people don't do it (replant), is that it's a little bit difficult," Martin says. "It's different from throwing your tree on the curb. You have to make a commitment.
"Everybody has a lot going on at this time of year and you have to invest a little bit of time on how to get it planted and where to plant it," he says. "What I tell people is make it a part of the holiday celebration, make it part of the family tradition to go out and plant it.
"We are used to tradition, and tradition says you buy this tree and maybe you get it chipped into mulch. It's one of those things where you want to question your tradition and decide to do something different."
People are talking
"I hear people talking about it and I think it's because of more environmental awareness," says Danny Burbage, superintendent of urban forestry for the city of Charleston. "It is done more these days than 15 years ago."
While it would be better environmentally to replant your Christmas tree, buying cut trees grown on farms that might otherwise have become subdivisions with paved areas is not so terrible, Burbage says.
Pavement and other hard areas reduce the amount of water that can be absorbed by the soil to replenish groundwater tables, and they contribute to runoff pollution.
All growing trees, including those raised at tree farms, help the environment by absorbing and holding air pollutants such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and nitrogen in their leaves and trunks, he says.
Mark Arena, an arborist with Clemson Extension Service in Berkeley County, says he gets several calls each holiday season from residents requesting information on how to replant living Christmas trees.
The first thing, Arena and Burbage say, is to ensure the that tree is one that can grow in the Lowcountry's warm climate.
Ones that grow well here include Virginia pine, Eastern red cedar, Leyland cypress and varieties of Arizona cypress, such as "Clemson Greenspire" and "Carolina Sapphire."
Many of the popular trees sold at local tree lots, including Fraser firs, grow well in the mountains of North Carolina but not in the Lowcountry.
In addition, trees with undamaged root balls big enough to support them are more likely to grow, Burbage says. But trees are resilient and many that have some brown needles can survive, he says.
