9 Eco-Friendly Ways to Repurpose Your Christmas Tree

We’ve enjoyed our trees indoors throughout the holiday season, but their gifts don’t end there. Put them to good use after the holidays by giving them a purpose in the garden. If you have a live tree, you get bonus points for being able to move it to the landscape for enrichment and years of enjoyment.

For cut evergreens, we’ve got tips for using the whole tree in its entirety or divided into pieces for multiple purposes. Repurposing your Christmas tree can help give the garden new life for a happy new year.

Benefits of Reusing Christmas Trees

As we explore ways to repurpose our trees, let’s look at the reasons behind them to make it worth the effort instead of dragging them to the curb. And, your town may have a municipal composting or mulching program, a viable option as well.

Moving the tree to the landscape enriches soils and provides habitat for insects, birds, and small mammals. Make sure the trees are free of unnatural embellishments (tinsel, flocking) before using them in the garden. It can take a few years for the evergreens to break down completely. Depending on use and placement, they:

Insulation and Mulch

Repurpose your Christmas tree as an insulating soil barrier. Evergreen boughs are perfect for protecting plants that need extra winter warmth. If you live in a cold climate, woody shrubs like roses and hydrangeas benefit from extra mulch or boughs around their crowns and roots. Many perennials that may be tender in your zone will stay cozy under a blanket of evergreen branches. They also add a mulch layer to containers and raised beds.

Strip the boughs from the central trunk to place them around tender shrubs and perennials. To create a lightweight, fluffy layer, clip them into shorter pieces and lay them evenly in the beds.

The conifers are ideal for landscaped beds with ornamentals, as they are slightly acidic as they break down. Some edibles, including blueberries, onions, potatoes, blackberries, and strawberries, don’t mind.

Trellis

Repurpose your evergreen Christmas trees to create a natural trellis. This works even with the branches removed to use as mulch. Cut off the top portion of the tree to the height you need for climbing plants. Peas work well as vigorous climbers to cling and run.

Dig a hole to house the trunk and backfill it with soil to anchor it in place. Sow seeds of climbing vines or place the plant near the new structure to use as support as it grows.

You can also use long branches to make tripods or pole supports. Clip off the soft stems for mulch or compost and use the central branch for structure. Use twine to tie supports together.

Pollinator Habitat

The last portion, the base of the tree, creates a simple pollinator house. Drill deep holes into the base to create cozy nesting and overwintering sites. Place the log in an area of the garden where pollinators like bees are normally active. 

A great way to promote beneficial insects and provide protective shelter is to use the long portions of branches to form a tripod (secured with twine). Pack the interior with needled branches and layers of sticks and bark. This becomes a space for beetles, bees, butterfly larvae, and all sorts of pollinators and beneficials to support the garden year-round.

Bird and Wildlife Shelter

Songbirds and wildlife will appreciate the shelter and perching opportunities from freshly repurposed trees. Move the tree and stand to a stable surface, or remove lower branches to bury the base in a deep hole backfilled with soil.

Get creative (and for a fun activity with kids), and “decorate” it with seedheads from sunflowers or pinecones with cranberries, dried fruit, seed balls, and suet. It becomes a living bird feeder and also an insulated spot to rest. The tree will eventually fall as it dries and breaks down, so keep it away from active areas of the garden.

If you have a tucked away or naturalized area like a field or woodland, lay the whole tree out to become nesting sites and wildlife shelters. The natural snag offers perching and shade. Songbirds, fowl, rabbits, raccoons, and others use snags for habitat. Team up with your neighbors to combine trees for a larger snag.

Windscreen

Winter winds can be drying and damaging, causing burn and foliar dieback. Place the whole tree to form a barrier near an exposed evergreen. Place it against the windy side of a boxwood, rhododendron, or other broadleaf shrub as a buffer.

Fill Raised Beds

Just as the boughs make an excellent insulating mulch, they also help fill the base of deep raised beds and promote drainage. 

Use a six to twelve-inch layer of branches at the bottom of the bed. Top it with other organic materials, compost, and soil for a layered, nutrient-rich source for roots come the next planting season.

The repurposed Christmas trees then become part of regenerative fill methods like Hugelkultur to build soil over time. The Hugelkultur method employs layers of decaying logs, sticks, and organic material to fill the base. These components break down over time, adding nutrients and new soil to the mix. Using aged material is best, as fresh wood can leach nitrogen from the soil. Keep fresh boughs at the base of the bed, or reserve them to age for use in a few months.

Chicken Enrichment

If you keep chickens, they’ll love pecking and exploring fresh-cut boughs. Use only untreated branches (free of pesticides, growth regulators, and unnatural embellishments like tinsel or flocking). Trees you cut yourself from a forest are good options. 

Chickens will pick, scuff, and forage on bark and needles. The needles are a source of Vitamin C and other nutrients for a natural boost. Use the branches in moderation to let the birds join in on the festivities.

You can also use the whole tree outside the coup to provide extra insulation and wind protection.

Fish Structures

If you have a pond (or with permission), sinking the tree turns it into a structure fish use for protection and food. As it breaks down, algae grow and attract insects that draw fish for feeding. It benefits the food web in addition to providing cover.

Not every pond is a candidate; starting with a healthy system with plenty of aeration and a non-algae problem is a good baseline. Clemson University offers helpful parameters on depth and spacing, as placement plays a role in fish structure success. Make sure to place them far away or in deep water in swimming, boating, and fishing areas. Your state Department of Natural Resources may have information on where and how to deposit or donate trees for sinking.

If your pond is frozen four inches or more, bring the tree out onto the ice. It will be a temporary bird perching site until the ice melts and it sinks into the pond.

Compost

Add any remaining pieces to the compost bin or pile. Compositing the whole tree requires some time for natural decomposition before adding it to the pile as “browns,” the valuable carbon-rich matter.