To think natural Christmas trees are rubbish

[Grindelwaldswand]

Got our first real Christmas tree yesterday and it is useless its 6ft but has massive gaps in between the branches and it can't even hold a bauble on the tip of the branch without falling to the floor i had visions of an amazing tree that would fill the hluse with the smell of pine needles but its scentless. definitely getting a fake tree next year.

I live in the Schwarzwald so not that worried about the environmental impact . One of the villages up the hill has a big Christmas tree sale/festival thing at the weekend, we'll get one of theirs.

But last year... ours went off! It went really stinky, like I don't know, a really sickly sweet fetid nasty smell. We did get it at the start of December so I wondered if that was just too long, but it was smelling off well before Christmas. IDK.

There's a trade off between needle drop and non-halal needle drop. The non-drop ones have less sent and sturdier, more widely spaced branches. What you want is a Norway Spruce. Great shape, very bushy and smell of pine. They are half the price of the Nordman Fir. However they do drop needles and aren't available as early as the other types as they are cut later because of this. Never buy one in the net, even getting them to un-net it on site can be deceptive because the branches take a couple of hours to drop into their final position.

Non-halal? Strangest auro-correct ever!

non-halal!

Norway Spruces are good if they're freshly cut and you stand them in actual water not earth. They'll last 2-3 weeks then with minimal needle drop, and they smell lovely. But getting them through the house in January can be a bit of a needlefest.

A real tree has to be bought from a farm assured scheme in order for the foot print to be low. Then it has to be mulched not to go to landfill. If you buy a tree that is growing in a pot with roots... a "real" tree lol it will smell great as its alive. Then you can watch it grow and have it for years. If you have no garden as I dont... ask about because local projects will let you plant it... or your kids school. I hate to think what it cost you, let alone where it came from..... might of been better left in the field looking sparse?

I absolutely could not be arsed with all that farting about choosing, transporting and maintaining a real tree. Not to mention the cumulative amount of dosh paid out over the years.

Our fake tree was about 70 quid, bought when DH (then DP) and I were having our first Christmas together, and still looks as good as new 14 years down the line. Not bad for about a fiver a year, and it looks bloody marvellous.

And I grew up with real trees every year. Hated the needles.

I love the wonky imperfections of an actual tree!
You've missed out on all of the fun by not making a day of stressful choosing your tree.

I bought our fake one nine years ago - the environmental impact didn't even occur to me It suits us though and we do love it so will hopefully get many more years out of it.

I bought an absolutely beaut from Asda on Saturday and only £20 for a non needle dropping one at nearly six foot. It was wrapped in mesh as well, but I am the champion of past duff trees though and am getting quite good at picking a wrapped one these days.

Have to say this one is the best one I've ever had.

Stitch - the longer you use it, the more it equalises out!

YABU - fake trees, although they may possibly last for several years before getting all tatty, will take a very long time to biodegrade. Real Christmas trees are environmentally friendly, as they are specifically grown for purpose, so during their years of growing lifetime, they provide homes for various insects and wildlife. Then, after Christmas, they can be collected by the local Council Green Recycling people, put through the chipper and used for compost, thereby making good soil for future years.

I have personally never, ever seen an abandoned real tree in the roads (as a PP has said). Not saying it doesn't happen, but I've never seen it, and I imagine if this happens, the Recycling people will collect it and use it for compost. We've bought rooted trees in the past, and planted them in the front garden after Christmas - they've flourished and look lovely with their white lights each year.

I don't agree with the argument that an artificial tree is more environmentally-beneficial than a real tree.

We are going to have a thick, scented branch of a conifer this year. I love the scent but it is really hard to detect at all on any of the Christmas trees I have seen for sale. So will be heading out into the nearby woods to find something.
Used to have a twig tree and last year had an arrangement of twigs in a large urn. We have deep sills so it was placed there. Looked nice with a few choice decorations but this year I am determined to create scented air.

Agree with a PP - don't buy a pre-wrapped tree. We go to our local farm, choose our tree and then have it netted. They are always beautiful. I love the scent and bushiness of them, so that little ornaments can be hidden amongst the foliage, as well as the bigger ones out front. If you get a stand with a water well, all the maintenance needed is that you top up the water well every couple of days.

Unless you own the woods, you can't chop down random pine trees from teh wild to take home! I think (but not totally sure) that it's illegal as well as being just wrong!

Stitch - the longer you use it, the more it equalises out!

It never "equalises out" because a plastic tree will never degrade.

"shovetheholly

Unless you own the woods, you can't chop down random pine trees from teh wild to take home! I think (but not totally sure) that it's illegal as well as being just wrong!"

Where did I say I would be chopping down a tree?

We get 2 real trees - a 9 ft Nordman for sitting room and a6 ft Fraser Fir for the middle of the hall. The Fraser Firs are narrower so works best there. It takes ages to choose - and yes we usually end up with the first one we look at. We will probably go the weekend before Christmas - they cut right up to the 23rd I think. Certainly don't cut them all at once as they wouldn't have enough space to store them.

We live in a village and there are many overhanging branches, though, comevto think of it...

come to

I don't think it's technically possible to accuse an actual Christmas tree of being shit at being a Christmas tree branch shaming because it can't compete with the perfectly spaced fake ones

Seriously though I do understand what you mean the ones Iv had don't smell at all and that's the main reason I wanted them as I remember the smell of the tree when I was a child as we always had a real tree

Love our real tree every single year.

I have a fibre optic lit twiggy tree.
Must be about 18 years old.
Love it.
Living room smells gorgeous . I have lots of essential oils, lime, bay, clove, cinnamon, sweet orange, lemon on some dried fruit rings I made and tucked behind the radiators on bits of gauze.

suburban - It depends on the measure you are using for 'ecofriendliness'.

Normally it is not just about degradation but about the kinds of energy involved: we are stacking up

• a natural tree that acts to sequester carbon but may also consume things like fertiliser, and is then cut, transported often very long distances, sold, transported again, and then disposed of on an annual basis with
• an artificial tree that is manufactured from artificial materials that are environmentally damaging, then transported, sold but then reused for a number of years.

There are a lot of variables, but individually, the natural trees come out better. However - and here's the rub - transport is a huge problem environmentally and many people who have natural trees are picking them up by car every year, whereas people who are getting an artificial tree out of the loft aren't causing that pollution. So all those journeys have to be factored in. The distance people travel by car to collect a tree really makes a difference! If I've understood it correctly, the study suggests that if you're going under 2 miles your halo is probably still just about intact but if you're travelling over 5 miles to pick up a tree, you are probably annihilating any benefit from the natural product and doing harm. (If you are picking it up on foot, that's best of all).

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The Christmas tree industry is a giant carbon sink. I'd sooner stick pine needles in my eyes that buy a fake one.