Real Christmas Tree Question?

All the trees that had been in the front yard of the house I grew up in are gone. All of them. That little valley gets hotter than hell in August. The old growth oaks kept the house cool in the summer and protected it from the worst weather in the winter. The apple gave us free fruit and Mom always canned the apricots. The willow was my personal favorite. I had a lawn chair and table under it for reading. The house looks barren without the trees.

One word about falling trees. Monterey pines are notorious for shallow root systems and a healthy tree will come down if the soil gets too moist. You never plant one within 100 feet of a house...or anything else you don't want it to fall on. Unfortunately the house that planted the one that came down planted it before the neighbors built their house.

[king4wd2]

I grew up in Ohio and on our lot we had 5 Blue Spruces growing up. One year we got the whole thing down. It grew to about 6 1/2 feet. That was our Christmas tree one year. The two out in the front grew as tall as the house. Mom and Dad planted those when they first bought the house and we lived in it until 1987, dad died in '85. Now the two spruces out front have been cut down because the new owners claimed that it brought the snakes to the front and termites!! Bullcrap!! It kept the snow from going to the front door and gave us ample shade in the summer. We had air conditioning, but not upstairs, HOT!! But if I can find the pic I'll post it on our image station!

Sarah, you're welcome for the help with the Tree Sunday night!! But I forgot about the other tips about sawing off the tip of the trunk. The sprite thing, I've never heard of before. I knew to put aspirin in flowers, but not sprite for trees!! Too bad, allergic to real trees, that is if I'm around them for too long.

[JeepGal]

agreed and agreed.

If you're stupid enough to let a tree get weak and fragile enough to fall before having it cut down and removed, then you deserve to be sued. If an act of nature (storms, etc.) cause an otherwise healthy tree to fall and you haven't kept up your home owners insurance premiums, then once again, you deserve to be sued...

Tams knows what I was talking about. Trees in their own space is a good thing. If someone builds under them and they fall down...well, you built your house there. The tree was there first (We had 2 huge oaks, 2 enormous acacias, an apple, an apricot and a willow tree in the front yard alone when we moved in.). But to put a tree in a space that is too small for it...that's another story. If it falls on your house...sad story. If it falls on the neighbor's house...law suit.

Originally posted by JeepGal
lol...youre absolutely terrible. I think some big pine trees in a small yard was the point here...not that all trees are terrible.

Im still laughing ...

Tam

If you top the tree each year for your Christmas tree, then it will never get too tall.

Although, even after having lived out here for the last 12 years, I still can't get over how close they build houses to one another. Where I grew up, a one-third acre lot was considered too small...

[JeepGal]

Originally posted by PRegner
I'm glad you made that point! All the better we should wipe the globe clean of trees! Heaven forbid one of them should fall down during a storm or other act of nature, and damage something! We could saw them all up and build something to give us shade in the summer too. I'm also sure that some scientist with a 200 pound head can find a way to make oxygen for us to breath once all of those dangerous, tall trees are gone...

lol...youre absolutely terrible. I think some big pine trees in a small yard was the point here...not that all trees are terrible.

Im still laughing ...

Tam

Originally posted by qwiksilver
Word of warning about the live trees...our neighbors where I grew up did the same thing. One of the Monterey Pines got to be a very big tree...then it crashed down on another neighbor's house during an El Nino storm. Demolished the roof a couple of days before Christmas.

I'm glad you made that point! All the better we should wipe the globe clean of trees! Heaven forbid one of them should fall down during a storm or other act of nature, and damage something! We could saw them all up and build something to give us shade in the summer too. I'm also sure that some scientist with a 200 pound head can find a way to make oxygen for us to breath once all of those dangerous, tall trees are gone...

[NAILER341]

Originally posted by sarah
i'll have to call on nailer for that sprite!

i have some sprite for ya'

Word of warning about the live trees...our neighbors where I grew up did the same thing. One of the Monterey Pines got to be a very big tree...then it crashed down on another neighbor's house during an El Nino storm. Demolished the roof a couple of days before Christmas.

I don't have a tree. No room and the young cat would knock it over anyway.

[mikeythefireman]

When you first get the tree home it's gonna drink a lot of water (several quarts-gallon). A good rule is to check it in the morning and again in the evening, making sure it's full both times. The longer your lights are on the more it will dry out the tree the more water it will need. I can honestly say I've never had an artificial tree. I'm so cool.

Christmas trees...Bah!!! Humbug!!! (a pagan activity adopted by christians; albeit, part of my germanic heritage) The only way to reduce the potential fire hazzard is to go to your local nursery, and get a potted tree. The beauty of them is that you can plant it in your yard after Christmas. I had a neighbor back in Colorado that did this for eight or nine years; after that, he had enough of them in his yard, and they were big enough that he could just go out and "top" one of them each year for his tree for the inside of the house (topping a different tree each year). He hasn't bought a tree for Christmas in more than twenty years...

[jmbrowning]

real xmas trees cut from the trunk drink a lot more water. plan on filling a couple of times a day. trees off a lot that have been cut probably a couple weeks old at least. they need water daily to every other day hth

[sarah]

i'll have to call on nailer for that sprite!

[cbremer]

a couple tips: when you get the tree, cut an inch or so off the end of the trunk (the part that is in the water) so there is a fresh surface to draw up water. also, when you water it, put a little bit of sprite or 7-up in the water- trees like the sugar!

check the water every day- no fires!