The festive season will have come and gone before you know it, and you’ll no doubt be left wondering what to do with the old Christmas tree that has served its purpose. You could simply give it away to your local council, who will recycle it for you by composting it.
While not a bad thing, there’s a certain lack of fulfilment in doing this. Instead, try recycling your old Christmas tree by repurposing it around the garden.
Repurposing your Christmas tree around the garden
Use the needles as mulch
This particular tip is worth doing as it's easy to do and requires little preparation. All you have to do is sweep up the needles as they fall from the tree and store them in a dry place until the spring when you’re ready to use them.
Like with many mulches, you can simply spread the pine needles around the base of plants, shrubs, or trees. Or you can dig them into the soil, where they’ll provide a nutritional benefit and help to retain moisture too.
You’ll often hear that pine needles are only to be used for acid-loving plants like roses or blueberries, but the truth is that you would need a mountain of pine needles to make a difference to the soil pH.
While Christmas tree needles are acidic, they actually become neutralised as they decompose, and the soil pH will remain largely unchanged. With this in mind, you can use them around the garden on any plants you like.
Use the branches for climbing plants
Climbing plants like sweet peas and runner beans require support like fences and canes to latch onto as they grow. Rather than buying new materials, you can use your old Christmas tree for the same purpose.
Cut the branches from the tree and trim according to your standard using a cordless chainsaw like the EGO CS1400E 35cm chainsaw or a pole saw. You will want the bottom of the branches to be one stem so they can be pushed into the soil easily.
Next, simply remove the needles and keep the branches until spring, when you can push them into the garden bed where you are growing your climbers.
Create a wildlife haven
There are several ways you can create a wildlife haven using your old Christmas tree.
- Simply cutting the tree into lengths using a battery chainsaw and piling the logs up will provide shelter for wildlife like hedgehogs and beneficial insects.
- If your tree is potted and not cut from a stump, you can move it outside, or plaint it out, and hang bird feeders from it
- Move the whole Christmas tree outside and lay it flat in an area of the garden of your choice, where it will protect from frost for wildlife
If you’re lucky enough to have a pond in your garden, you can use your old Christmas tree here, too. The thick, dense branches will give any pond-dwelling wildlife a safe refuge from predators. What’s more, old trees or log piles close to ponds provide a place for amphibians to hide out of the water.
Insulate areas of the garden
The branches of old Christmas trees make excellent protection from frost, not just for wildlife but for plants too. Using a pole saw (like the PSA1000 cordless pole saw) or cordless chainsaw, cut the branches from the trunk of your old Christmas tree and lay them over the surface.
There’s no need to remove the needles from the branches as they will drop off onto the surface of the soil and naturally mulch your garden beds.
Don’t have any room? Let the council do it
You don’t have to use your old Christmas tree around the garden even if you want to recycle it. Your local council can recycle your old Christmas tree for you. All you need to do is place the tree into your brown bin, making sure you have removed the base and all the decorations first.
Something to note is that the trunk of your tree must be smaller than your wrist. If it is thicker, then you should take it to your local recycling centre.
What if I have a plastic Christmas tree?
Plastic Christmas trees are made from several artificial materials and so they cannot be recycled. All the more reason to purchase a real one, either potted or felled.
There are numerous reasons why a real Christmas tree is better than a plastic one, here are a few:
- Real Christmas trees are renewable and sustainable
- Unlike plastic trees, real Christmas trees are biodegradable
- Buying a real Christmas tree supports local businesses, particularly rural ones
- Real Christmas trees have a lower carbon footprint than plastic ones, especially if they have been felled using an EGO cordless chainsaw
No matter which you buy, make sure to invest in an EGO cordless tool too, or at least miraculously find one under the Christmas tree.
All EGO Power+, Professional and Professional-X cordless garden tools come with exceptional warranty. For example, each battery chainsaw comes with 5-year warranty for domestic use and 3 years for professional use.
Additionally, each cordless chainsaw can fit any size EGO battery for convenience. No matter what job you’re undertaking, it’s good to have another battery as a backup, just in case. Browse our battery range here to see the best one for your needs.