Why not decorate a live tree? Tips for choosing the perfect conifer EVERY YEAR when the wife drops the dreaded box of Christmas lights in front of me, | try to picture myself as George Jetson. Imagine, push a button and out of the wall appears a six-inch by six-inch bundie that self-extracts into a pre-decorated tree then plugs itself in. { can see it now; the perfect plastic tree complete with some perfectly plastic imperfections. A few self-gencrating needles to shed on the floor and the more expen- sive models could even harbor a few robot bugs. After a few minutes of this nightmare 1 am quite happy to spend the next six hours untangl- ing strings of fights. Who would not choose to risk a little elec- trocution and a run-in with a prickly pine in order to five in a world where the trees continue to pop out of the ground rather than out of the walls? Now that we have agreed to banish the artificial Christmas tree, what do we need to know about the live ones? Well first. there are live trees and then there are the used-to-be's. These ‘used-to-be-a-pine’ or *used-to-be-a-fir’ trees were living trees which have been cut to become traditional Christmas trees. As I see it, the real ‘live Christmas ue’ still has the roots attached. Although in principle | am more inclined to the ‘live’ tree, ! recognize and appreciate the need for the ‘used-to-be’. Our house- Geoff Tobiasson OVER THE GARDEN GATE hold has selected a cut tree for the past several years due to the dif- ficulties we would have in gecting a live one in or out of the house. As I said, five trees have roots, in great big, heavy root balls. If you are separated from the out of doors by a set of stairs or other hard-to-negotiate terrain, cut trees may be the answer. If you are still planting trees in the garden, using it as a_ live Christmas tree first makes good economical sense. This being the case, try to avoid sheared or shaped trees as this will affect their natural beauty for years, it not forever. ft is for this reason that J do not recommend using Douglas firs as live trees. When left unsheared, they are too loose and open for any but the ‘Charlie Brown’ tree 44 If you are still planting trees in the garden, using it as @ live Christmas tree first makes good economical sense. 99 lovers to find attractive. Some good examples of live trees for use indoors are as follows: Serbian spruce (picea omorika) can reach 70 to 100 feet in height but its dense, narrow, 10-foot maximum, profile lends character to even the smaflest garden. Colorado spruce (picea pungens) comes in green and a wide variety of blue forms. It seldom exceeds a height of 30 feet in the garden. Dwarf) Alberta spruce (picea glauca conica) is more suited as a table top tree when one’s Christmas spirit is larger than the allowable space for a full sized tree. Its dwarf habit rarely allows il to reach six or more feet and its dense habit makes it difficult, to decorate. An oumsheared, naturally full Scotch pine (pinus sylvestris) or Austrian pine (pinus nigra) would make a great live tree for at least one year. If you plan on using it TIME TO RENOVATE AT INCREDIBLE XMAS SAVINGS! and keeping it that way in successive years, planting it into a good, long-term container and regular pruning and shaping will be required. To prune a pine without destroying its natural beauty try adopting some of the bonsai tech- niques used by the Japanese. Pinch out all of the candles, as the emerging new growth is called, in early spring if no additional growth is desired. Pinch the can- dies back by half when some thickening growth or filling in is needed. A dwarf member of the Scotch pine family (p.s. ‘Watereri') is worth trying to track down. Sts slow growth, dense habit and blue color make it an excellent choice when used in this manner, If you want your live trees to stay that way, follow these very basic rules. Never allow the tree to remain indoors for periods ex- ceeding 10 days. Longer than this and you risk bringing the tree out of dormancy and damaging it by exposing it lo winter weather. Severe and rapid changes in temperature are dangerous as well. If on the day you choose to bring the tree in or take it out, the out- side temperature remains below freezing, leave the tree in a pro- tected halfway house for a few days. A carport) or unheated garage will do just fine. Do not tet the root system become dry. This doesn’t mean drowning the thing by letting it stand in a bucket of water. Any water that the root system cannot absorb within an hour should be removed. If the room in which the tree is to stand is kept quite warm, spray it with an antidesiccant such as ‘Wilt Pruf’. This will help the tree retain moisture while it is exposed to dry, indoor air. That's about it. Good luck in finding the perfect tree (always a daunting task) and may the days ahead be full of good cheer and great Christmas spirit. And remember to limit the cheer and spirits to those times when someone else less cheerful than you has volunteered to drive. Tis the season to decorate Don’t be disappointed — order now for Christmas delivery — and save! wpe ele Pay Levelor and Abbey Blinds Ly JETTED TUB f Sonor off sug. retail PLUS TOILET * BASIN (WITH SEAT) BRING IN THIS AD AND RECEIVE AN __ ADDITIONAL 10% OFF ALSO FEATURING THE COMPLETE LINE OF ACRLTEC SPAS " WHITE, BONE & IVORY ONLY! *slignt imperfections Selected Drapery and Upholstery Fabrics Sale ends Dec. 7/90 Huny in or call - Christmas deadlines quickly approaching. COLDEN TOUCH INTERIORS Complimentary in-home design consultation. 1099 Marine Dr., North Van. 985-61 12. Corner of Lloyd & Marine. Parking in rear, HURRY! 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