The Hort Report: Try these ideas when it’s time to take down Christmas tree and wreaths

Hoping and praying everyone had a blessed Christmas and remembered the reason for the Christmas season. Happy New Year, too.  

Let’s review what you can do with your Christmas tree. I still like to have a live Christmas tree to use on the front porch. Here are things you can do with them and any living Christmas wreaths.

Use them for a home for birds and other wildlife once you take them down. We put our Christmas tree along a fence or in some shrubs. The branches help cut down the wind. They allow birds to sit and rest. With the Christmas wreaths, you can hang them in a shrub or fence. 

Put them in a pond to help air get into the pond once ice starts to form on the pond. Make sure to put the branches of the tree into the water. As ice starts to form on the pond, the branches will allow the ice not to set up as thick or sometimes not at all, depending on the temperature and how much wind there is. Water moving in and around the branches will help to create openings so air can get into the water. This will help keep your fish from dying during the winter. 

Put the Christmas wreaths along the banks of a pond in the water. They will do the same as a Christmas tree in helping to keep air in the pond.

Christmas trees and wreaths can be used to stop the flow of soil washing down ditches. When doing this, make sure to put the top of the Christmas tree facing into the flow of water so the water and soil push into the branches. It causes them to spread out, catching the soil over time as the flow of water and soil slows down and settles. Doing this will stop the soil and the ditch from getting bigger.

Use the Christmas tree and wreaths in a compost pile. Cut the branches off the tree and lay them down first. This will allow them to help create space for air to get in under the compost pile, helping the compost to break down faster. Lay the wreaths down and use them the same way.

Chip up the Christmas tree and use the chips as mulch. It will be fresh mulch, so use them where you want to kill off the grass. After a year of drying out, you can use them in the garden or flowerbeds.

If you received a poinsettia for Christmas, here are tips to help it survive after the Christmas season is over. 

Take it out of the wrapping that the pot is in. This will allow air to get into the roots and allow water to drain out of the pot. 

Put it in a sunny place in the house where the temperature is above 55 degrees. This will allow them to grow and build up a good strong root system so they don’t stretch and get leggy.

The South Shelby Adult Vo-Ag horticulture class starts Tuesday, Jan. 7. It will be held from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the South Shelby Vo-Ag classroom on every Tuesday until April 29. The class will spend time both in the classroom and greenhouse. You can start your seed and grow them up to the size to transplant in the garden or flowerbed. If you have any questions, please call 573-588-2040 or 573-406-7267.

I appreciate all your questions in the past. I’m looking forward to them in the future, so thank you. Please keep them coming. Call me at 573-588-2040. Email me at sci63468@hotmail.com, visit on Facebook at Greenwell’s Greenhouse Group or ask anytime you see me. 

Pat Greenwell is the owner of Shelby County Implement in Shelbina, Mo. He was a high school agriculture teacher for 11 years. He has taught adult vocational agriculture since 1987. He also is a research assistant at the Truman State University Ag Department Farm.