Oh, the Tree Choice. What will it be? Endless needles, or yet more plastic? Our votes, from first to last.
Top Choice: Living Tree
If you're not into a cut tree, a living Christmas tree can be just the right choice. You can celebrate with a tree but honor the environment. A living tree can be any of a variety of fir trees that comes with its roots intact, and is kept in a large container and watered until it is planted after Christmas or in the spring. It's important to choose a healthy, properly potted tree, and to care for it properly. You can even use a large house plant, such as a Norfolk Island pine, or a potted white spruce as a Christmas tree.
If you can't buy a living tree, the next best green choice is to buy a live tree, which can be recycled and turned into mulch after the holidays. By far the most popular option, Christmas celebrators buy 25-30 million cut Christmas Trees each year. Currently close to half a billion real Christmas Trees are growing on the nation's 21,000 Christmas tree farms. If you buy a real Christmas tree, make sure you set it out so your municipality collects it and recycles it into mulch. Find a tree recycler in your are at Earth911. More than 4,000 Christmas Tree recycling programs are in effect in the United States, so you should be able to find something.
Third Choice: Something Creative
We like those feather trees for ornament display, and bundled white birch branches, and suggestive pyramids of various objects. What are your ideas?
Last and only if you must choice: Fake-o-Rama
High-quality imitation trees are also an option, but critics warn that they are petroleum based, non biodegradable and bring toxic materials into your home. And eighty percent of artificial trees worldwide are manufactured in China, which means a huge footprint for transportation if you're buying in the US.
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