Alternatives to Christmas trees

[MountainLaurel]

That can live year-round on the Gulf Coast? We're thinking of getting a small something we can plant in the yard after this Christmas and decorate outside in coming years. Because of power lines, it couldn't grow more than 6 feet tall, but something even smaller would be OK. Or, we could keep it pot-bound year-round as long as it wouldn't get too huge. (We don't have enough room in the house for a large pot, so it would have to be moved inside for the holidays and then back out afterward.) Right now the two top contenders are a miniature cypress and a rosemary, but we're still learning about warm weather gardening, so I'm sure there are some we haven't even considered.

[BOSSHOG]

1. May I suggest

a Bottle Tree? We made one out of a dead redbud in our south yard and have had a great time "trimming" it with colorful bottles and various and asundry hippie like accoutrement like twirly suncatchers and dangly stuff. You can also get them made of iron.

http://www.bottletree.com/

If ya get a chance take a drive over to Bay St Louis on the Mississippi Coast. It got wacked pretty good by Katrina but a lot of the shops are coming back. Its a great place to get some really classy, tacky, hippiefied, down to earth fun stuff for inside and outside the house. Its about 35 miles east of Slidell, take I-10 to exit 13 and hang a right. Also the Bywater Arts Market at Markey Park on Royal occurs the third Saturday of the Month. A really nice little place to pick up some local art.

Hope ya get a tree you're looking for.

[CrispyQ]

3. ...

:toast:

[BOSSHOG]

4. Awesome

Are those bottle affixed to something somehow?? No doubt I'd knock it over just by walking in the room.

[blue neen]

2. My mom lived in Florida and got a Norfolk Island Pine one year.

She planted it outside, and it is thriving. They are lovely house plants, also.

[LWolf]

5. I don't know anything about the gulf coast,

but I've been considering this same question for MY new area; I moved 4 years ago.

Previously, I always got a "living" tree. Brought it indoors on xmas eve, took it back out the day after xmas to plant. Minimal dry heated winter air to keep it healthy.

Here, I can't dig a hole the week after xmas to plant a tree in. The ground stays frozen for months.

I've considered digging a hole in September and covering it, so it will be ready. As long as the pile of dirt isn't buried under snow and frozen hard, that might work.

I've considered leaving a tree on the deck in a pot, but didn't know if it's roots could handle the hard freezing without a thicker blanket of soil.

I saw some beautiful trees at Home Depot this December, and almost brought one home. I asked first, though: "Will these grow outside here?" No. They were Norfolk Pines; tropical, if you can believe it. Perhaps you should check into them for next year, lol. Except that they grow quite a bit taller than 6 feet.

I didn't have a tree at all. If I'd found a really small one in a pot, I would have kept it indoors, as far away from the wood stove as possible, by one of the windows, and planted it in spring. I didn't find one, though.

One of the things I really miss growing here is rosemary. A big rosemary bush is the size of moderate xmas tree. If a Norfolk Pine doesn't work, I'd do that.

What did you end up choosing?