Many people choose to buy a Christmas tree in a pot so that they can plant it out later. The disappointment is all the greater if he doesn't survive. There are different reasons why this could be.
To the point
- Buy from nurseries in autumn
- acclimatize slowly
- a maximum of ten days in warm rooms
- Plant out in frost-free spring
- shallow-rooted conifers as an alternative
Table of contents
- Shopping
- Care until Christmas
- Care in the house
- Relocation to the open air
- Culture in the pot
- Alternatives to fir
- frequently asked Questions
Shopping
One reason why the Christmas tree in the pot has difficulties is that it was purchased at the wrong time. Many people decide to have a tree in a pot shortly before Christmas. The problem with purchases that take place shortly before the festival is that the trees are specially cut out. They did not grow in a pot and have no chance of forming root mass in the pot. The trees live longer than those that have been cut off Christmas trees, the root system is usually severely damaged so that they do not survive in the long term.
If you intend to buy a Christmas tree in a pot, you should look around at specialist retailers early on. The best place to find a suitable tree that will survive Christmas is at the nursery. It is ideal if you look around a tree there in autumn. The trees are cultivated outdoors and moved into pots early on, but they are not specifically excavated Christmas goods. The trees are only sold when they have formed enough roots to survive in the pot.
Our tip:You can grow a Christmas tree in a pot yourself. You can buy seeds from specialist retailers or take cones with seeds with you on a walk in the forest.
Care until Christmas
If you bought a Christmas tree early, it has a good chance of surviving with a little care. It is important that it is acclimatized to its environment and kept as cool as possible.
Care tips:
- Place in an unheated greenhouse before the first frost
- From mid-November, place in an unheated, bright staircase or similar
- About 3 weeks before Christmas, place it in its place during the day during the Christmas period
- In the week before Christmas, the pot can remain permanently in its place where it will be decorated
The location for the Christmas tree should be bright and not have too low humidity. The trees in the pot do not have a high chance of survival in the immediate vicinity of the heater.
Our tip: To increase the humidity, you can place a bucket of water in the immediate vicinity of the tree. Alternatively, you can spray the conifer with water every two to three days.
Care in the house
When growing in pots, a good supply of water is crucial. The effort is significantly higher because conifers, depending on the species, require a lot of water. Check at least every other day whether the root ball is still moist enough.
Our tip: There are measuring devices available in specialist shops that show how moist the substrate is. Electronic indicators even give warning signals when the humidity is too low.
At the same time, you should avoid waterlogging, as this can cause lasting damage to the roots, which greatly reduces the trees' chance of survival. Check approx. 30 – 60 minutes after watering, check whether water has collected in the saucer and tip it out.
Relocation to the open air
If the pot is in a warmer room, it should be used to cooler temperatures again after a maximum of ten days. If the time in the heat is too long, premature death can occur shoot growth which, however, would not receive enough daylight during this time and would wither away.
To prepare the tree for its place outdoors, slowly get it used to the cool conditions again temperatures and go through the indoor acclimatization process in reverse order through. The Christmas tree remains in the pot until it is planted out in spring. If there is severe frost, you should also protect the root ball in the greenhouse or in a protected location. Check regularly whether the tree needs water.
A good time to plant the Christmas tree again is early spring. The ground should no longer be frozen and there should no longer be any permanent frost.
Planting instructions:
- Dig a planting hole at least twice the size of the ball
- If the soil is compacted, fill in a drainage system made of coarse gravel
- fill in some substrate
- Place the tree in the middle
- fill with substrate
The fir doesn't have any major requirements when it comes to location. You should leave at least three meters away from other plants or objects such as house walls. You can use the excavated soil as a substrate. The tree will have a better start if you mix a slightly acidic substrate, which is suitable for hydrangeas, for example, into the topsoil.
A notice: The Christmas tree may be planted no more than as deep as it was in the pot. Conifers generally do not tolerate deeper planting.
Culture in the pot
It is possible to cultivate the tree in a pot up to a height of 120 cm. When buying, make sure that the tree is smaller so that it can easily stand in a pot for several years. Check annually whether the fir tree needs to be repotted. Once you see roots at the drainage holes, you should transplant them into a larger pot.
Alternatives to fir
One reason why the The fir tree's chance of survival is less in the pot, is their taproot, which quickly reaches the bottom of the pot and then there is not enough space. Alternative conifers that have shallow roots have a significantly better chance of survival in pots.
Alternative conifers:
- Spruce (Picea abies)
- Cypress (Chamaecyparis)
- Hemlock (Tsuga)
- Sickle fir (Cryptomeria japonica)
- Sugarloaf spruce (Picea glauca)
frequently asked Questions
If you buy a Christmas tree in a pot that is intended to survive, you can expect to pay on average twice as much as the cheap product from hardware stores or discounters. The reason is that care in the pot until it is sold is significantly more complex. In addition, it takes longer until the trees can be sold compared to Christmas trees that are planted in the pot shortly before the festival.
If the Christmas tree remains outdoors during the holidays, you do not need to acclimate it. The root ball just needs a little protection so that the fine roots are not damaged by the frost. Wrap the pot thickly with a jute sack and place it on a wooden board or a thick Styrofoam plate to protect it from the cold from the ground. In winter, also make sure to water when there is no frost.
On average, the trees in pots are between three and six years old. The trees should not be higher than 120 cm. Otherwise, the tree may be too old and can no longer be planted outdoors.