For Christmas 2006 we purchased a live uncut tree, planning to bring it home, leave it outdoors till a few days before Christmas, bring it in to decorate, then return it to the outdoors soon after the holiday for planting.
The little white spruce waited in the front yard till Garrett got home for the holiday, as we had found the root ball quite heavy and felt his assistance was needed in carrying it up the stairs. He arrived home on a day following several of heavy rain, and now the root ball was even that much heavier, and the decision was made that it couldn’t be lifted safely up the stairs. Being Dec. 23rd, we opted for the artificial tree of many years past, and left the little spruce in the front yard.
On New Year’s Eve, the weather being mild, and the ground manageable, Dad and Garrett dug the hole and set my tree, joining the willows and maples in the backyard. Hopefully it will offer shelter to the feeder birds which have recently been at the mercy of a sharp-shinned hawk. His attack on a mourning dove led me to the decision to acquire this, my first conifer.
