Where To Recycle Your Christmas Tree This Year by Vicky Spelman

ColoradoTreeRecyclingDisposal

Many municipalities across Colorado have free tree recycling or composting programs for holiday pines that have served their festive purpose.  

What happens to the trees? In most cases, the trees are chipped and made into a mulch which is usually made available, free to city or county residents. 

Important: Never burn your Christmas tree in a fireplace or wood stove. Burning the tree may contribute to creosote buildup and could cause a chimney fire.

Here are four cities in Jefferson County that have Christmas tree recycling or composting programs.  Trees must be stripped of all ornaments, hardware, strings of lights and tinsel. 

ColoradoTreeRecyclingDisposal

Arvada: The city will accept trees for recycling anytime through Jan. 19.

• Lake Arbor Lake Park, 6400 Pomona Drive

• Stenger Fields at West 58th Avenue and Oak Street

Golden:  Christmas Tree recycling is provided by the City of Golden Forestry Division. Program details are distributed every December in the Golden informer.  Drop off your trees now through January 27 west of the intersection at Highway 93 & Golden Gate Canyon Road. Please place your tree near the sign posted for tree recycling. For further details, contact the City of Golden Forestry office at 303-384-8141.

Lakewood:  Tree recycling from 7 am to 3 pm., December 26th, through Sunday, January 12, 2020. Tree drop-off will take place at Lakewood's Greenhouse, 9556 W. Yale Ave. The greenhouse is located between Estes and old Kipling streets. Please follow posted signs and drop trees in the designated area. Tree recycling is free for Lakewood residents. Mulch will be available upon request.  For more information, please call 720-963-5240.

Wheat Ridge: The city has a free tree recycling program for residents that runs through the end of February. Drop sites are open from sunrise to sunset:

• Prospect Park, 11300 W 44th Ave.

• Panorama Park, W 33rd Ave & Fenton St.

For additional cities and counties in Colorado:

RecycleChristmasTrees#1

RecycleChristmasTrees#2

RecycleOldChristmasLights.

To recycle your old Christmas and Holiday Lights:  RecycleLights

Mistletoe – Everyone’s Favorite Holiday Parasite by Vicky Spelman

Photo Courtesy Pexels

The Christmas Holidays have a rich association with plants and a couple of favorites are the Christmas tree and mistletoe.  In winter when many trees and plants are bare, mistletoe stays green.  

Celebrate the Winter Solstice by Donna Duffy (a past Master Gardener)

 

Photo BlueDotMusic

It feels like the days just can’t get any shorter, and it’s true. Today we celebrate the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year. 

December Solstice (Winter Solstice) arrives at 6:30am in Denver, today December 21, marking the moment that the sun shines at its most southern point (in case you are counting, the sun is about 9,473 million miles from earth today).   The winter solstice occurs in December, and in the northern hemisphere the date marks the 24-hour period with the fewest daylight hours of the year. To the delight of many of us, this means that the days will start getting longer, however incrementally.

Why is my Christmas tree beginning to grow? ~Michigan State University Extension

Decorated Christmas tree with new growth
Photo by Doug Thalman

                                                                       

In some years, species prone to early break bud like Concolor fir, Douglas fir, Balsam fir and Black Hills spruce are likely candidates to possibly break buds once displayed.

It may seem like a miracle when your Christmas tree breaks bud and begins to grow while on display, and it is, the miracle of nature.

Often, Michigan State University Extension educators receive calls from homeowners in December because their Christmas tree has broken bud and started to grow while in the house. To understand what is going on, we need to talk about how conifers develop and survive the winter. Each year, trees follow a cycle of dormancy in the fall. This process helps them survive through winter until spring when they will come out of dormancy, de-harden and resume growth.

The two most critical environmental factors that trigger the dormancy process are the reduction of light, or photoperiod, and low temperatures. Conifers will stop growing and set terminal buds as days become shorter even though the day temperatures are still relatively warm, but the nights are cool in August and September. The dormancy process first begins because of decreasing photoperiod, but continues as trees respond to low temperatures around or just below the freezing point. This dormancy or chilling period is needed before normal growth will resume in the spring.

As a general rule, most conifers need to accumulate at six to 10 weeks of exposure to temperatures below 40 degrees Fahrenheit in order to meet their chilling requirement to overcome dormancy. The chilling requirement is an evolutionary adaptation that protects trees from starting to grow anytime they experience a brief warmup during the winter. It’s the same reason bulbs don’t start to grow as soon as you plant them in the fall. 

Close-up of a Christmas tree breaking bud. Photo by Doug Thalman.

Some tree species require a relatively short chilling period to overcome dormancy. If we have a cold fall and early winter, trees may accumulate enough chilling hours to satisfy their dormancy requirement before they are harvested from their field or during shipping and display at the tree lot. Once the chilling hours are met, the only thing keeping the tree from growing is that outdoor temperatures are too cold. Once trees are placed in a warm, favorable environment, they can and sometimes do begin to grow like it’s springtime. This can seem like a miracle, but it is just the miracle of nature.

Article: Bert Cregg, Michigan State University Extension, Departments of Horticulture and Forestry, and Jill O'Donnell, Michigan State University Extension - December 10, 2020

via Extension Master Gardener

World Soil Day (WSD) is December 5th by Vicky Spelman

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

World Soil Day (WSD) is December 5th, and its campaign is: "Keep soil alive, Protect soil biodiversity".

It’s an international date we use to focus attention on the importance of healthy soil - and to advocate for sustainable management of our soil resources.