How about getting a living X-mas tree and planting it after you're done with it? Or decorate a large houseplant, like a ficus or norfolk pine that you keep in the house all year long? That's what my family does.

If you do get a large living tree and aren't able to plant it yourself, how about asking your local scouts or 4H group to organize a live tree collection and planting on some public land?

Real Tree or Fake? This is a question I had recently from a client of mine and was surprised to find that real was the way to go.

I have a question, what if you are allergic to trees? We have a fake tree that we bought years ago because we are allergic to the real thing in our house. Other than the "Don't have a tree" or "Have a tree outside" answer, does anyone know of a GREEN fake tree out there?
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Pine pollen or other trapped pollens as well as mold may cause allergic response. Setting up and decorating diserses these into your home. If weather permits, suggest hosing the tree down first with a strong spray, possibly even a power sprayer (no soaps though). Let it dry well before you bring inside. Anyone else tried this?

Anyone know if pinene/terpene compound vapors can actually cause allergic response (washing would not affect these).

I have a used, hand me down fake tree. It was going to be thrown out, but I saved it and 12 years later I still use it.

I like the saved from a landfill idea because then I don't have to worry about a live tree, or where to put it when I am done.

The potted trees/shrubs tend to be grown the standard agricultural way (read: tons of chemical pesticides and fertilizers).

Buy organic!
Unfortunately, there are only a handful of organic "christmas tree" growers in the USofA, none of which seem to sell outside their location in the Eastern part of USofA.

However, one may still buy a permit and cut his/her own on National Forest and/or BLM land across the USofA for usually less than $10.

My area has stopped with the permits because of years of drought, so my family has settled on a potted rosemary plant. We will soon also purchase an organic wreath from either organicbouquet.com or a vendor on localharvest.org to give our house the familiar pine smell and sight that my midwestern blood craves every winter.

We bought a Leyland Cypress this year which would seem to be a bit eco-friendlier since they grow so darn fast and thus require less land to supply X number of trees.

Also, since these aren't "pine" trees, I haven't had nearly the allergy issues I have with normal live trees. Much more beautiful and cheaper too.

someone I know once used a green miniskirt tacked to the wall in place of a tree.

Is there an artificial tree that is made from recycled products? Or an artificial that is eco-friendly? Thanks!

Real trees make my family sick over the holidays (not me, though), so we have to use a fake tree.

I have used fake trees my entire life. Because of allergies, pets and pine mess. I have had the same fake tree for 12+ years and my family used the same one for 20 years before passing it on to someone else who still uses it.

Nothing beats a real tree. Get a live one in a pot and use it for many years. Mine, I'll use for the sixth year. Don't forget to shape it every now and then. Organic is best.

LMAO! Allergic to trees... what will people think of next?

It's time to think around the tree. The tradition of using a real tree harks to the days when there were fewer people and more trees. When I was growing up, we went out and cut our own tree off our farm. A scraggly, Charlie-Brownish type cedar, that nonetheless filled the bill in a simpler, less perfect time. Now trees are grown to be perfect and shipped thousands of miles. It's insane.

Or tons of toxic chemicals used to make fake trees still shipped thousands of miles- all in the quest of capturing an old time era in a more perfect form. In my less green days, my famiy purchased a fake tree. We are still using it 15 years later.

When I replace it, it's going to be some organic material,tree-shaped form. I saw a wonderful tree of that type in a Christmas show recently and thought "why the heck can't we all do that". The woman with the green miniskirt on the wall came close. That's where we all have to go.

This Christmas my fiancee decorated the Norfolk Island pine that I have been growing for about ten years. It looks nice and does quite well indoors.

I also really like the rosemary idea. Maybe I'll buy one this year to add to my collection of plants. I suspect a rosemary would do best indoors if it is misted frequently to prevent it drying out.

Then there is the Freegan way.
Go to the local tree place and ask for some of the branches that have been cut off the bottoms of sold trees.

Our grab a discarded tree right after Christmas.

My FFA chapter was selling chritmas trees this holiday season and nine out of ten people had fake trees. the reason was it was easier and cheaper in the long run. I like real trees i have gone through six potted trees. each year we plant them in our yard as a reminder of the past years