CARING FOR YOUR TREE
Tree
Facts - Did you Know...
Each year
25-30 million Americans select and take home an evergreen tree to
decorate with ornaments and lights fo the holidays.
Your Christmas Tree has been intentionally grown for your enjoyment,
and is a renewable source. 98% of the trees sold are grown on
farms as a crop. 2% come from natural stands.
Christmas trees are often grown on land that is unsuitable for
farming. By utilizing these fields, tree farmers help to control
soil erosion and provide year-round homes for wildlife.
One acre of Christmas trees produces the daily oxygen requirement for
18 people. During photosynthesis, trees absorb carbon dioxide and
emit oxygen. For every tree harvested, up to three seedlings are
planted in its place. This is even better for the environment
because young trees have a greater rate of photosynthesis than older
trees they have replaced.
Artifical trees contain non-biodegradable plastics and possible metal
toxins such as lead.
Holiday Safety
Be sure the tree is well
supported in a water-holding stand and is away from fireplaces,
radiators, TV sets, and other heat sources. These elements can
prematurely dry your tree.
 Christmas Trees are not as likely to be the first
item ignited in residential fires as many other common household items:
- newspapers and magazines - 13 times
more likely
- boxes or bags - 10 times more likely
- curtains or drapes - 9 times more
likely
- overloaded electric outlets and faulty
wires are the most common causes of holiday fires.
Avoid use of combustible decorations. Check all electrics lights
and connections. Do not use lights with worn or frayed cords and
do not overload electric circuits. Lights should be off when the
house is unattended and when you retire each evening. NEVER use
lighted candles.
Tree Maintenance
- Care for the tree as carefully as you
care for cut flowers.
- Place the tree in a bucket of water out
of the sun and wind until you are ready to decorate.
- Make a fresh cut off the botom of the
runk one half inch from the bottom just before putting it in the
stand. Keep the tree's stand full of water at all times, checking
the water level daily.
- Trees are thristy! The stand you use
should hold at least one quasrt of water for every inch diameter of the
trunk after the tree is in the stand. Trees may drink between 2
pints and a gallon of water per day - so make sure to check daily and
supply fresh water as needed.
Tree Recycling
- In
a nation survey, 93% of consumers who used a Real Christmas Tree
receycled theirs in some type of community program.
- Christmas Trees are rececyled for five
main types of large-scale uses. These are:
-
- chipping
(chippings are used for various things from mulch to
hiking trails)
- beachfront
erosion prevention
- lake
and river shoreline stablization
- fish
habitat
- river
delta sedimentation management
- Consumers can access local Christmas
Tree recylcing information by typing in their zip code at NCTA's
website: www.realchristmastrees.org
or by calling 1-800-CLEANUP.
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