Have you ever considered a root-ball Christmas tree? When I talk about it, few people know that you can do this, but buying the entire tree – roots and all- is my favorite way to do Christmas. If you have a yard and could use some extra green, this is double awesome! You get the benefit of having a real tree and not having to cut one down to get it.
Root ball trees usually cost around $30 more dollars that cut trees, and the added benefit of getting to plant it after the holiday is very rewarding. Not only can we look out and see our last four years of Christmas trees happily growing, but we also have a couple 50ft tall pines in our yard which were the old Christmas trees of my husband’s grandmother!
They’re a little more work then a regular cut tree and much more work than an artificial tree. They weigh about 300lbs, so have the right equipment is essential.
You’ll need a large tub in which to keep the tree and be able to water it. We put gravel and bricks in the bottom of the tub also. Both help to stabilize the root ball and keep water from pooling around the burlap.
Other helpful supplies are old towels, heavy gloves, and rope. We place the empty tub on an old towel, roll the tree from the truck into the tub and use the towels to drag the tub into place. Lot’s of rope help with the dragging and setting the tree up straight.
Notice I say ‘We’ a lot when in fact Matt did most of the heavy lifting. I did help to stabilize the tub once inside so that we could position the tree upright! Like I said, it’s a little more work, but totally worth the hassle.
Super Bonus: There is lots of room under the tree for big presents !
What kind of tree do you have? Any funny stories?
Have a SPLENDID Monday!
Emily says
I had no idea you could do this! I’m going to have to keep it in mind for next year!
Emily
victoria | vmac+cheese says
This is so cool! It’s fun to think about having these big towering pines that were from past Christmases. love that!
Elisa @ The Self Life says
Neat! Love that you could look out into your yard at your past Christmas trees..
Kristine B says
That’s a great idea!
If I didn’t have an overwhelming fear of the tree starting on fire (why we do fake since we built our home) and the fact that we live in frozen tundra land and getting a root ball tree to live until the ground thawed would be next to impossible, I would definitely do this!
Erin says
I should mention that we dig the hole for the tree in the fall and cover with a tarp through the winter
in past years, however, we’ve kept the tree unplanted until spring! They’re growth is dormant during the winter, so it doesn’t hurt them to stay out of the ground for a while as long as they’re watered!
Colleen says
I definitely want to do this when we have a yard to plant the tree without being fined by our HOA. For now I will just put up the artificial “Charlie Brown” tree that I swear every year I am “NOT putting up again!”.
JENN says
This is amazing! What a great idea. I have a friend whose family did this growing up and he LOVES seeing all the trees from Christmas’ growing up.
Laura M. says
Never heard of this… what a great idea!
Heather / It's So Suburban says
Huh, I had always thought those trees would be super expensive. Only $30 more? That is definitely worth investigating!
lauren @ our big fat farm wedding says
This facinates me. My husband and I considered it, but alas, we are renters, and didn’t have the space to plant it this spring. We enjoyed our first (live)Christmas tree experience, and are continuing to enjoy lots of other fun, new holiday traditions. Ho, ho, ho!
lauren @ our big fat farm wedding says
*fascinates. (yes, I realized I misspelled that just this morning and I needed to correct myself. Ha!)
Helena says
What an awesome idea! I love that you have all the old trees in your yard. That’s such a cool “heritage”!