Planting Your Live Christmas Tree

Balled-and-burlapped or container-grown Christmas trees can be planted out as landscape trees after Christmas.

Planning Ahead

  • It is best to have living trees in the house for no more than 10 days. Longer periods in a home can lead to death of the tree.
  • Living trees are heavy. Be sure that you can manage to move this much weight around without damaging either the tree or yourself. Container-grown trees are usually lighter and easier to handle.
  • Locate an appropriate spot in your landscape for the tree. Dig your planting hole ahead of time (preferably before the ground freezes)—the hole should be slightly shallower than the rootball of the tree that you are planting.  Shovel the soil onto a tarp and backfill the hole with leaves or straw to insulate its walls. Cover the hole with the soil-topped tarp, and lay a second tarp on top of the soil to keep the soil dry and to provide insulation and protection for the hole.

Taking Care of the Tree Indoors

  • Before moving the tree inside the house, help it adjust by moving it to an unheated but sheltered area such as a garage or porch for a couple of days. Make sure to keep the tree watered.
  • Locate the tree indoors in as cool a location as possible. Keep it away from heating vents, fireplaces and other heat sources
  • Provide as much natural light as possible.
  • Place the root ball or container in a water proof container.
  • Keep the root ball constantly and evenly moist, but don’t allow the tree to sit in water. A handy technique for watering trees while indoors is to place crushed ice over the top of the root ball.
  • Use light sources that give off less heat like LED lights.

Planting the Tree

Transition the tree to the outdoors by moving it into a cool shed or garage for a day or two to give it time to acclimate. Keep the root ball evenly moist.

Plant it

See our planting instruction booklet or check out our planting instructions.