Christmas trees

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Elmigo
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I just read that each year, the stores have thousands of leftover christmas trees that are not sold. A lot of those trees end up as a gift for local initiatives, but by far most of those trees simply end up in a wood shredder. This is terrible!

I'm sharing this so anyone who reads this becomes aware of this and maybe, perhaps next year, we can go to the stores and plant some trees when we have time. Or maybe some people may come up with local initiatives so those trees won't end up in a wood shredder.

I'm considering this for next year.
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oldherbaceous
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We have a rooted tree that lasts for many years... it's kept pot-bound, so doesn't grow a lot bigger.
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peter
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Most have very little in the way of roots still attached or have been cut at ground level.
Even with some roots attached, replanting weeks after they were dug and after weeks in a house(or shop) survival is unlikely.
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Primrose
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Although many people like them I think the idea of cutting down 7 - 10 year old Christmas trees so that they can simply die after 10 days in a centrally heated environment is pretty barbaric, especially in these days of global warming where every tree counts.

We have a rather ragged 20 year old artificial tree. Yes, I know that plastic is bad for the environment too but at least it,s saving the life of a real tree every year but maybe we should ban real Christmas trees . All of the ones ai,ve seen being sold round here are felled at ground level without roots so sadly there no chance of replanting them and even those with roots would probably suffer beyond repair u less they were stored with their roots in a bucket of water for the duration.

A challenge for the environmentalists: Come up with a re-usable Christmas tree which isn't made of plastic !
Stephen
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I walked past the local garden centre today. They certainly have some cut trees left unsold.
I have no doubt these will be chipped. The local scouts set up a chipper so people to bring their trees. I'm sure the wood chips get sold for mulch or pathways.
The arguments for and against Christmas trees are not simple.
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Elmigo
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I believe plastic is only bad for the environment if not recycled or used wrongly. Also we use it for packaging that's imnediately thrown away after a few days while oil is used for production of it. The least we could do is use plastic for long lasting items. Artificial christmas trees are amazing if kept for many years! Perhaps the ground level trees can be used for other purposes. My father once used one to create table legs, waxed them and they already last for 12 years now! At least the tree doesn't get shredded for nothing so I'm glad.
Cookie_2
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In my area there are hundreds of Christmas trees in supermarkets but also it is possible to buy a Christmas tree from a special area in forests where trees are grown for Christmas. People come here, they choose which tree they want and they cut it. Nothing wastes.
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