Buying and caring for a potted Christmas tree

In addition to looking wonderful, a potted Christmas tree cared for properly lasts much longer and is thus more sustainable than one that has been felled. The little tree even saves you a lot of work when it comes to cleaning up. For example, the potted Christmas tree comes with a root ball, which means it loses far fewer needles than a felled tree. The Christmas tree in a container can also be used in a variety of ways, as the generally smaller trees are also ideal as natural Christmas decorations in small flats or on the balcony or patio.

But if you would like to buy a potted conifer for Christmas, you should also consider the drawbacks. This variant means that you usually have to make do with a small tree measuring no more than 1.20 m. Larger conifers are not suitable for growing in a pot because of their size and weight. The tree also needs the appropriate care to stay healthy for a long time. Below is a summary of the most important care steps that should be taken before and after your Christmas tree has been decorated.

To guarantee your rooted Christmas tree can become a sustainable project for many years to come, you should make sure it has a firm root ball and many fine fibrous roots when you buy it. Accordingly, choose a specimen that has been grown in a pot rather than one that has been dug up and then planted in a container. These often have damaged roots and are not able to survive. In particular, the transition from cold garden to warm living room and back entails stresses that only a strong and healthy conifer with well-developed, intact roots can withstand. If you want to check, carefully pull the tree out of the pot before you buy it. If its root ball is well-developed and compact, then you can go to the checkout without thinking twice. To make it easier to plant the tree in the garden later on, you should choose a smaller specimen because smaller plants usually withstand the transplant shock better than larger conifers that have become accustomed to a permanent location over years of development. This means that young, smaller plants that have been grown in a pot for about a year are ideal.

As long as it doesn't freeze, it's a good idea to water the Christmas tree thoroughly before moving it indoors so as to prepare it for the warm air from your heating system. During its stay indoors, the conifer should be included in your watering routine for indoor plants – under no circumstances should the root ball be allowed to dry out. Test the soil with a finger and water it if the surface feels dry. Having said that, conifers cannot tolerate waterlogging. If your potted Christmas tree loses its needles and turns yellow, this may be an indication that the soil and thus roots are too moist. To make the conifer's time as a Christmas tree especially pleasant, spray its needles with water every one to two days – this has a cooling effect and increases humidity.

It's important to allow the small Christmas tree sufficient time to acclimatise when you move it outdoors, too. It's advisable to move the tree to the hallway or garage again to allow it to spend a few days in the place where it was acclimatised for its stay indoors. Regular watering should be continued for a while to allow the Christmas tree to compensate for losses due to the evaporated moisture. After about two weeks, you can put the potted Christmas tree in a sheltered spot outdoors in frost-free weather. If you want to plant your potted Christmas tree in the garden, it's advisable to wait until the spring when any risk of the soil freezing has passed.

If you have the necessary space in your garden and want to share your coniferous tree with other garden residents, plant your potted Christmas tree outside in the spring after the last frosts. This will give the tree the chance to live for several decades. After three to four years at the latest, the fir tree is likely to be too big to be kept in a pot. To plant the fir tree outside, it is advisable to dig a planting hole that is at least twice the size of the plant's root ball. Then carefully loosen the tree's roots when you lift it out of the pot and put the woody plant in the hole in the ground. After that, put the soil around the root ball and press it down well. You should then water the tree regularly – especially if spring isn't rainy and wet. Digging your conifer out of the ground for Christmas and then replanting it in a pot is not advisable because you inevitably run the risk of damaging the tree's roots.