There is something very special about displaying a live and Living Christmas tree that provides a tree for you to plant on your garden after the holidays. Many buy imitation trees, because they do not enjoy throwing a live tree away. Planting a Living Christmas tree yearly will commemorate each holiday as a special year. Looking back when the kids have grown, along with the tree, they can read who celebrated the holidays at that date with the family and bring back cherished memories. With care and planning, your Christmas tree will serve as a living memory for many years.

Slowly bring the living tree from the outside to the inside of your house starting with the garage or enclosed porch, and ending up inside the house. To expose a dormant tree from the cold outdoors, to the warm indoors immediately will start to grow. This growth is what you want to avoid. Make sure to check the tree for bugs or insect eggs, while the tree gets used to the warmth. Buy a spray with an anti-dessicant or anti-wilt product so that during the introduction to the house phase, the needles will not drop. It will also help keep the moisture in the tree, that might be lost once it is brought inside. Place the tree and the root ball in a large galvanized tub.

Locate the tree indoors in as cool a location as possible. Keep it away from heating vents, fireplaces and other heat sources. Use limited numbers of miniature tree lights. Provide as much natural light as possible.Place the root ball or container in a water holding tub. Fill the bottom two inches of the tub with gravel and place the ball or container on the gravel. This will keep the tree from sitting in water. Keep the root ball constantly and evenly moist, but not flooded. A handy technique for watering trees while indoors is to place crushed ice over the top of the root ball. Learn that a piece of pipe inserted vertically at the side of the tub provides an easy way to check water level in the tub. If there is water at the bottom of the pipe, you do not need to water the tree. You can check the water level by inserting a "dip stick" into the pipe.

Skip the galvanized tub and stabilization steps if the tree comes packed in a plastic bucket. Use something under the tree to protect the floor. Look for Anti-dessicants and anti-wilt product under the names of Wilt-Pruf or Cloud-Cover.If the work of bringing a live tree in and out of the house seems excessive, consider planting the tree directly outside and decorating it there. This can become an enjoyable occasion that is less stressful on both you and the tree. If you do not have space in your own yard for a living tree, you may be able to donate it to a local school, church or park. Be sure that there are such options in your area ahead of time. Place old cotton towels on top of the root ball and keep the towels moist. Wet towels will generally remain moist for for 1-2 days depending on conditions in your home. They also make it easier to apply water to the tree root ball without spillage onto your flooring.

Living trees can stay in the house for only a brief period, no more than 7 to 10 days. Longer periods in a home can lead to death of the tree.