It’s that time of year again, Utahns! And you know what that means: time to break out the decor and set up a Christmas tree for the holidays!
Choosing a Christmas tree is one of the most meaningful parts of preparing for the season, but many people still feel unsure about which type to bring home.
At Glover Nursery, we believe the best way to get more from your Christmas tree is choosing one you can plant after the holidays.
A plantable Christmas tree (or a living Christmas tree) offers a unique experience. They’re often overlooked or confused with standard pre-cut trees, even though they benefit your home and landscape long after the ornaments are packed away.
Before you bring home a tree this season, we’re here to clarify what makes a plantable tree different and why it’s worth considering.
This guide also covers how they compare to other options and what to look for at the nursery. You’ll also find tips on caring for your tree so it thrives long after Christmas.
What are plantable Christmas trees?
Plantable Christmas trees are real, living trees that still have their root ball intact.
They are often grouped with pre-cut trees because both offer the classic look, scent, and nostalgic experience that many Utahns associate with Christmas.
The only difference is that you can plant them in your yard straight after!
Aside from plantable Christmas trees, there are four other types of Christmas trees available to buyers.
- Pre-cut trees – these are the typical offerings you see at tree lots and nurseries. They’re often the easiest and most accessible choice for shoppers. However, they tend to be slightly more expensive because of the harvesting process, transportation, and handling.
- Choose-and-cut trees – come directly from local growers in Utah. You visit the farm, walk through the fields, and choose the tree you want.
- Wild-grown native Christmas trees – These grow naturally in forests and are harvested under permitted programs that help manage overcrowding and reduce fire risks.
- Artificial Christmas trees – mostly imported from China and made from materials such as PVC plastic, metals, and occasionally lead. These aren’t actual trees, but they’re a great alternative for people with tree-related allergies!
Are plantable Christmas trees better than these other options?
When compared to pre-cut or artificial trees, Plantable Christmas trees provide meaningful benefits before, during, and after holiday use.
Yes, artificial trees are convenient and less expensive than buying a fresh tree every year. They can also help people with mold or pollen allergies. However, their advantages stop there.
Plantable Christmas trees, on the other hand, are useful throughout their entire lifecycle. This is unlike artificial trees that often end up in landfills for untold decades.
Once inside your home, a fresh Christmas tree provides more than a festive ambiance. Many people find that the scent and presence of real trees offer subtle mental health benefits.
Fun fact: Researchers at West Virginia University found that natural aromas can support better focus, reduced stress, and improved mood during the busy holiday season. If you’d like to learn more about this effect, we recommend reading their article on Christmas trees and looking up the effects for yourself!
If you decide not to keep the tree, you can even recycle it for mulch or compost and support healthy soils in your garden.
Is it more environmentally friendly than getting a pre-cut tree?
This is a common question we get at the nursery. They’re both environmentally friendly.
In Utah, any public or commercial tree cutting is carefully regulated by land management agencies such as the Bureau of Land Management.
These pre-cut trees are removed as part of forest health projects, which help reduce fire risks and improve long-term tree growth. So each removed tree is under proper permits and a lot of oversight.
However, most Christmas trees aren’t even harvested in Utah. Many of the pre-cut trees sold at tree lots and nurseries come from established farms in Washington and Oregon. These farms grow Christmas trees as an agricultural crop, similar to potatoes.
Glover Nursery sources our pre-cut trees from dedicated, family-run farms in Oregon, and we handpick each one to ensure quality for the holiday season. If you’re interested in how this process works, you can read more in our article about how Christmas trees travel from farms up north to your living room.
Living or plantable trees are sourced from high-quality nurseries in the PNW. We carry trees that will thrive in Utah’s climate. We offer many Utah native and drought-tolerant varieties of conifers, as well as unique specimen and dwarf varieties for any type of garden size and style.
How to look for a fresh Christmas tree you can plant
To guarantee a Christmas tree you can plant after the holidays, we recommend visiting your local nursery as early in the season as
possible. Early visits give you a better selection and reduce the chance of choosing a stressed tree.
When inspecting a living tree, start with the root ball. It should feel heavy and moist. If it’s wrapped in burlap, check that the wrapping is snug and intact, with no exposed or broken roots. Container-grown trees should sit firmly in their pot without wobbling or pulling away from the soil.
Once you’ve checked the root ball, take a quick look at the canopy. Needles should hold their color and feel flexible, not brittle or dry. Give the tree a gentle shake. A few brown needles falling from inside the canopy are normal, but if green needles drop freely, the tree could already be stressed.
Before you buy, there are a few things worth asking the nursery:
- What is your current evergreen selection?
- Are these trees intended for our USDA hardiness zone?
- What type of soil will this tree need?
- Can this tree handle secondary water (if applicable)?
Live Christmas tree varieties at Glover Nursery
Glover Nursery carries a wide range of living Christmas trees you can plant after the holidays. Here’s what you’ll find on our lot:
Pines
Spruces
- Black Hills Spruce
- Colorado Blue Spruce
- Engelmann Spruce
- Norway Spruce
- Oriental Spruce
- Serbian Spruce
- White Spruce
Fir
Cedar/Cypress
Live Christmas Trees for Small Spaces
For smaller yards, we recommend dwarf conifer varieties or shrubs. You can enjoy them as living trees during the holidays, and then plant them in your yard without having to worry about them growing oversized.
Live trees typically range from $100 to $300 depending on species and size. They’re smaller than fresh-cut options, which usually run between $59 and $299. The tradeoff is that a living tree becomes a permanent part of your yard once it’s planted.
If you want to see what’s available this season, stop by our Christmas tree lot in West Jordan!
Caring for your Christmas tree indoors
Optional section for video:
Alternatively, you can watch a more engaging, summarized version of how to care for your tree during and after Christmas, narrated by our very own Ryan Glover.
A plantable Christmas tree can only stay indoors for around four to five days before the needles dry out. They don’t like to be inside! It needs proper care to keep it fresh and safe throughout the season.
Before bringing the tree inside, let it acclimate in your garage or a sheltered area for a couple of days. This helps the tree adjust gradually instead of going from cold outdoor air straight into a heated living room. You’ll want to do the same thing in reverse when it’s time to move it back outside.
Place the tree in a watertight container and keep the root ball moist throughout its time indoors. Check the soil daily and water when it feels dry to the touch. Set a drip pan underneath to protect your floors, and dress up the container with a tree skirt or wrapping paper.
Position the tree away from fireplaces, heaters, and warm vents. Heat speeds up moisture loss and can stress the tree quickly. Use UL-approved indoor/outdoor LED lights instead of traditional bulbs since they produce less heat on the dormant tree. Turn the lights off when you leave the house or go to sleep.
Before the holidays start (and ideally before the frost sets in), dig your planting hole while the ground is still soft. Aim for a hole the same depth as the root ball and about two feet wide. You could also call your local utilities before you dig so you don’t hit anything underground.
Once the tree comes back outside, don’t plant it right away. Let it sit again in the garage or a sheltered spot for a few more days to readjust to the cold. When you’re ready, set it in the pre-dug hole and backfill with the saved soil.
Make sure that your living tree gets water throughout the rest of the season. We recommend watering new plantings and young evergreens about once a month through the Winter months, even when there is snow on the ground.
Hold off on any heavy pruning until late February or early March, and use sharp, clean shears when you do.
Reusing your Christmas tree
Once the holiday season ends, your Christmas tree still has plenty of uses! A real tree never needs to go to waste.
If you’ve kept your Christmas tree indoors for five days or less, it’s ready to go in the ground. A planted Christmas tree grows with your yard and gives birds and wildlife shelter through winter. It’s also a meaningful way to mark a big year in your life:
- Your first year in your new home
- The birth of a child
- In memory of your loved one
Again, if you decide not to keep the tree, you can recycle it for mulch or compost. Either way, a real tree never has to go to waste. You can learn more about the environmental benefits in our post on the most environmentally friendly Christmas tree.
Browse through high-quality trees in our Christmas Tree Lot
If all this reading inspired you to pick up a fresh Christmas tree for the holidays, you can pick out your own tree by visiting Glover Nursery in West Jordan, Utah. We carry an incredible selection of evergreen trees to choose from.
While at the tree lot, you can also pick up wreaths, garlands, and bulbs to make it easier for you to get your home ready for Christmas.
