Tips for O Tannebaum

You are giving Mother Nature a gift when you choose a live tree for your home at the holidays. Trees remove carbon dioxide from the air, provide habitat for wildlife and protect soil from erosion — and the more trees that are cut each holiday season, the more that are planted.

Here are some tips to make your tree-cutting a memorable holiday tradition:

Dress for success. Wear warm clothes, boots and gloves because it’s probably going to be cold, the ground is likely to be muddy, and trees — spruces, in particular — are prickly. Bring a large piece of plastic or cardboard to place on the ground because you’ll need to get down low to cut the tree.

Tree types.length Junipers, spruces, cedars and firs have the shortest needles. Scotch pines have stiff, medium- ones. White pine needles are long and soft. Red pines have the longest needles. And that odd-looking tree with an uneven side can be a space saver when you place that side close to a wall.

Timber! Check if you need to bring your own saw; some farms provide specially designed saws with large offset teeth. Cut low to the ground and straight across; you can trim off lower branches. Leave enough trunk to fit in the tree stand. Ask someone to pull the tree slightly away from the side where you’re cutting to keep the saw from binding.

Tying it on. Shake to remove loose needles. Some farms will bale the tree to fit inside your trunk. Bring a blanket and twine if you need to secure the tree to your car roof. Aim the trunk end forward so branches don’t catch the wind. If you have a luggage rack, tying it twice to each side should do. Or you can run rope through the car doors or windows if you don’t need to open doors on the way home. It’s a good idea to also run a rope or two to the front and one to the back of the vehicle.

At home. If you don’t put the tree up immediately, place it in a bucket of water in a cool place. Saw a thin slice off the base before putting it in the stand. Leave the twine on, so that when you cut it, the tree will take its natural shape. Note that faint cracking noise you may hear when the house is quiet is the sound of pine cones opening. You may find some sap on the trunk or on a broken branch. Keep the tree watered.

January blues. Find where you can recycle in your municipality.