It's best not to keep a live tree indoors for too long.Yesterday, we told you how to care for a cut Christmas tree. Here are tips for keeping a live tree happy indoors until you can plant it outside.
• Keep the tree inside no more than a week. The biggest mistake is leaving it inside a warm house too long, causing it to awaken. When moved back outside, the usually hardy tree is susceptible to freezing.
• Select any conifer. Traditional choices include spruces, Douglas fir, true firs and small pines, but others will work as well.
• Decide where to plant before you buy, so you choose a correctly sized tree.
• Dig a planting hole now while the soil is soft. The hole should be 12 inches wider than the tree's root spread and deep enough so the plant sits at the same level as it is in the pot. Backfill the hole with mulch.
• Acclimate the tree gradually. Move it into the garage three to four days before bringing it in the house, and do the same when returning it outdoors.
• Indoors, keep the tree away from furnace vents, fireplaces and wood stoves.
• Water carefully. The tree won't be too thirsty, especially if the house stays on the cool side. But check daily for dryness, and water by placing ice on top of the soil, which allows water to sink in slowly. Protect floor with a saucer under the tree and a mat or rug under the saucer.
• Remember to water when the tree goes back outside.
• In January or February, remove mulch from the planting hole, and plant the tree with soil from the hole. If you mulch around the tree, use composted bark. If you leave your tree in a container, pull the tree out of the pot every August, trim roots about 3/4 to 1 inch all around, and repot with fresh soil.
-- Homes & Gardens staff
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