Iowa families who put up a live Christmas tree in their houses back on Thanksgiving weekend are likely ready for it to come down now, and instead of hauling it to the curb to go into a landfill, they might consider ways to repurpose it.
Chip Murrow, an urban forestry program specialist with the Iowa DNR, says folks with acreages might be able to “tree-cycle” that evergreen back into the great outdoors, somewhere on their own property.
“Just putting the debris out at the edge of your yard where animals can use it for habitat. You could also dig a small hole and stand it upright and birds would be able to use it, woodpeckers and things like that,” Murrow says. “And the nice thing about a dead tree is, it’s also going to attract some insects, which is then going to provide food for the wildlife, too.”
Smaller songbirds will like having a place to get out of the wind and to seek refuge from predators. Murrow says you can also decorate the tree outside.
“The way I like to do it at the fair with kids is roll pine cones in peanut butter and then roll it in bird seed, or if you have suet, you can cover it with suet and then roll it in bird seed,” Murrow says, “and you could hang those from the tree and that would also make a natural bird feeder.”
An old Christmas tree that’s sunk in a farm pond could become an excellent fish habitat, but he cautions, it has to be under certain conditions.
“You can do it in private ponds. It’s not allowed in any public ponds. It’s actually considered littering if you do it in a public pond,” Murrow says. “So if your city has ponds, or if you’re thinking about trying to help out the state parks that have lakes or ponds, don’t do that, but if you have your own private pond, it does make a good fish habitat.”
For best results, he suggests sinking it with a cement block secured to the trunk, so it sits upright at the bottom of the pond. For Iowans who are crafty, you could trim the branches to make a fragrant sachet, wreath, or garland to enjoy in the weeks ahead.
“Once it stops soaking up the water you’ve been watering it with, it’s going to get dry and brittle, but if you do it shortly after, you can use the branches to make wreaths,” he says. “They’d probably still be bendable and pliable enough to do that.”
Another option would be to find a local Boy Scout troop that could use the tree for outdoor firewood, though with the creosote, it should -not- be burned indoors in a fireplace.
A final option, use the needles as an effective mulch on perennial plants, in your garden, and to keep weeds in check next spring.