Answer: Living Christmas trees (roots and soil) are purchased for indoor enjoyment during the holidays and for outdoor enjoyment as landscape trees when the holidays are over. Purchasing a living tree and successfully establishing it in the landscape can make holiday memories live on as the tree grows each year.

Live trees are normally sold as balled and burlapped or potted stock. They cost more than cut trees, and , unlike similar nursery stock sold at normal planting times, the survival of a living Christmas tree is seldom guaranteed by the seller. There are challenges to enjoying the tree indoors and successfully planting it outdoors so that it survives. For one thing, a living Christmas tree is heavy. A 5-6 foot balled and burlapped tree with its soil ball may weigh 100 to 200 pounds. Remember this when you are looking for a ""nice, big tree."

Live trees should not remain indoors for more than three to five days. The plant's buds must remain dormant in order to avoid winter kill once it is moved outdoors. When the tree is indoors, don't let the soil and root ball dry out. The ball can be placed in a tub and kept moist with peat moss packed around it to retain the moisture and provide insulation. Sheet plastic may also be used. Keep the tree in a cool room away from hot or cold drafts, and water as needed to prevent the soil and root ball from drying.

Regardless of the evergreen species selected, choose a sunny site with well-drained soil for its permanent landscape location. Remember in placing a the tree that most evergreen trees will grow at least 10 to 15 feet wide and 30 or more feet tall.

Following the holidays, it is best to provide a gradual transition for the tree from indoors to outdoors. Let the tree spend a few days in a cool area protected from the wind, such as a garage, rather than abruptly planting it outdoors. This is especially desirable if the weather is extremely cold and windy.

Evergreens are prone to winter injury from desiccation because they continue to lose water through their needles during the winter. Trees with unestablished root systems, such as newly planted living Christmas trees, are especially vulnerable. After planting the tree, be sure to water it thoroughly.
  

Question: We just purchased a Norfolk Island Pine as a living Christmas tree. Can we plant it outdoors after the holidays?

Answer: Unlike most pines that are familiar to us here in Western Washington, the Norfolk Island Pines is far too tender to plant outdoors in our climate. The good news however, is that it makes an elegant houseplant when given proper care.

The ideal indoor climate for this species is cool and bright, with daytime temperatures ranging form 60 to 70 degrees F. and slightly cooler at night.

Although Norfolk Island pine will adapt to bright indirect light, the plant will look its best with a couple of hours of direct sunlight daily. If the light sources is coming from just one direction, you'll want to rotate the plant a quarter turn weekly to keep it from tilting to one side.

What is most challenging for the typical home gardener is giving this plant the high relative humidity it needs. Norfolk Island pine thrives at 50 percent relative humidity, yet it is not unusual for the average house to drop to 15 percent during the winter heating season, unless steps are taken to increase moisture in the air.

Water the plant when the top inch or so of the soil in the pot feels dry. Use enough water to allow a little excess to escape through the bottom drainage holes. When the plant is actively growing, feed it with a fertilizer formulated for indoor foliage plants. It is not unusual for the plant to be in a period of rest during the winter months, at which time there is no need for fertilizer.

It is not unusual for a few needles on the lowest branches to turn brown and drop. If this happens slowly over time, its more than likely just normal aging of the branches. However, if many needles are browning, or it the problem appears more widely distributed among the branches, look to problems of either too much or too little water or too little relative humidity.