What to Do With Your Christmas Tree After the Holidays

Reuse a cut Christmas tree after the holidays: cover perennials with boughs, shelter birds, chip the tree for mulch, or sink trees for pond fish habitat....

Published by Blake Peavy

christmas tree holiday winter mulch wildlife

The Short Answer

A cut Christmas tree still has work to do after the ornaments come down. Iowa State University Extension and Illinois Extension both suggest reusing the tree outdoors: lay the boughs over perennials as a light winter mulch, stand the tree up as a windbreak and shelter for birds, chip it for landscape mulch, or sink trees in a pond as fish habitat. Remove every bit of tinsel, lights, and ornaments first.

If you still have a tree in the stand, the Christmas Tree Care tool covers daily water until you take it down. A rooted tree is different; use the Living Christmas Tree Planner instead of recycling the top.

Take off the decorations

Iowa State Extension says to remove all tinsel and ornaments before you recycle the tree. Illinois Extension repeats the same caution: whatever reuse you pick, get the ornaments and tinsel off first. Tinsel, hooks, and plastic do not belong in mulch, brush piles, ponds, or bird cover.

Use the boughs as winter mulch

Prune off the branches and lay them over perennials. Iowa State Extension recommends this as a winter mulch. Illinois Extension explains why it works: evergreen boughs and needles are light and will not pack down or suffocate the roots they are protecting. After you strip the branches, you can use the bare trunk as garden edging (Illinois Extension) or leave it to break down.

Give birds a windbreak

You can move the whole tree outdoors and use it as shelter. Iowa State Extension suggests placing the tree in the yard so the branches give birds cover from strong winds and cold. You can hang fruit slices, seed cakes, suet bags, or strings of cranberries or raisins, or smear peanut butter and seeds in pine cones and hang those in the branches.

Illinois Extension adds a placement detail: put the tree to the northwest of feeders, the direction winter winds often come from, so birds have a windbreak while they feed and less seed blows out of the feeder. If you want the tree to stand upright, anchor it with a steel fence post. If you have outdoor cats, do not place the tree so a cat can use it as cover next to a feeder (Illinois Extension).

Chip it for mulch

If you have access to a chipper, Iowa State and Illinois Extension both say you can chip the tree and use the chips as mulch around trees, shrubs, or perennial beds. Illinois Extension notes that this mulch can reduce weeds, moderate soil temperature, and help the soil hold moisture. Many towns also collect trees and return them as wood chips.

Sink trees for fish habitat

Illinois Extension says trees can be sunk in ponds to shelter fish and other aquatic life. A single tree does not do much, so group three or four together and sink them vertically with rocks or concrete blocks as anchors. Iowa State Extension notes that some hunting and fishing groups collect trees for wildlife habitat, and that local conservation groups may be another option if you cannot reuse the tree at home.

Other options

If you cannot reuse the tree yourself, Iowa State Extension suggests contacting local government offices, such as public works, or your sanitation service. Many communities have curbside pickup or a drop-off site.

Illinois Extension also notes that needles and branches can start an outdoor fire, and the trunk can be used as outdoor fuel, but you should never burn a Christmas tree in a fireplace or woodstove. Burning it may add creosote and could cause a chimney fire.

Next Steps

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