The baubles are down, the tinsel and fairy lights packed away, and the empty Christmas tree stood in the corner looking bare and bereft. But instead of bundling it into the car and dropping it off at the local dump, there are plenty of eco-friendly options for what to do with your old Christmas tree that can help out local wildlife over the winter months.
Winter can be a lean time outdoors for wildlife, but by giving your tree a second life in the garden, it can provide wildlife with a place to shelter, roost or feed or can be shredded, mulched and used in garden borders to suppress weeds, enrich soil and give things a head start for the gardening year to come.
‘Recycling your Christmas tree isn’t only a sustainable choice, it’s an opportunity to give something back to local wildlife,’ says Nigel Lawton, plant buyer, at Dobbies. ‘With thoughtful reuse, a real tree can be repurposed in your garden to make shelter for insects and small animals like hedgehogs and birds during the colder months, enriching the garden ecosystem long after the festivities have ended.’
1. Create sheltered areas around the garden
If you are planning on re-using your old Christmas tree outdoors, it’s essential that you start by removing all the decorations first, such as tinsel, baubles and metal hooks, which could harm wildlife. For the easiest re-use option, which is great if you have a large garden, simply lay the tree on its side in a secluded area to create a ground-level habitat for creatures. Branches and needles will soften over time and form a layer of decomposing material that will attract beetles, woodlice and other insects and provide wildlife with warmth and shelter.
Alternatively, you could chop the tree into smaller sections to be used throughout the garden to create sheltered areas, suggests Nigel. ‘Wear gloves to protect your hands, then starting from the top of the tree, use a good quality pair of secateurs to remove each branch, cutting as close as possible to the main trunk,’ he advises.
‘Once you’ve removed the branches, you can stack them together to create mini wildlife sanctuaries. Use four or five pieces layered on top of one another and place under large shrubs, trees or hedges. Do this throughout your garden until all the branches are used up. This will give insects and small animals a safe place to shelter from the cold winter weather.’
2. Make a log pile for bugs
‘To use the main trunk section of the tree, use a pruning saw to cut it into 30cm lengths,’ suggests Nigel. ‘These can then be stacked together to make mini log piles that are a brilliant wildlife garden idea and a great habitat for hedgehogs and birds, as well as being beneficial for insects such as ladybirds, centipedes and solitary bees, which play vital roles in pollination and pest control.’
Position your log pile in a shaded area with partial moisture – too dry, and it won’t support decomposers, too wet, and it may rot too quickly. Over time, fungi and moss will colonise the wood, creating a microhabitat that supports a range of small creatures.
3. Make a bird feeding station
It can be hard for our feathered friends to find food and shelter over the winter, so setting up a bird feeding station is a great way of making use of your old Christmas tree and a place where birds can gather and feed in the garden.
Use the upright trunk of your tree with a few select branches left still attached strategically positioned for birds to perch on and where you can hang feeders or suspend suet balls, seed cookies and fat blocks. It will create a rustic, natural-looking feeding station that will encourage birds to visit regularly and a spot that you can enjoy viewing from inside the house.
‘Alternatively, cut sections of your tree’s upper branches and use these to make a sheltered feeding area,’ suggests Nigel. ‘Fix a few branches together and attach them to a post or garden trellis, which will help create a natural windbreak where small birds can perch between feeds.’
Shop for winter bird food
Peckish Complete Seed mix
Kingfisher Suet Cake With Mealworm
4. Re-plant a pot-grown Christmas tree
If you’ve got a pot-grown Christmas tree, it will last for years to come if planted outside correctly,’ suggests Nigel. ‘Pot-grown trees are a great value option as they can be planted in your garden after the festive period is over and brought back inside year after year.’
‘As a rule of thumb, you should dig a hole the same depth as your pot but at least twice as wide, and make sure to loosen the soil in the bottom of the hole. Carefully remove the tree from the grow pot, disturbing as little of the natural rootball as possible. Then, fill with a 50:50 mix of soil and a good-quality multipurpose peat-free compost like Miracle-Gro all-purpose compost, £8.59 for 20L from Amazon. Gently firm the tree in place and make sure it is regularly watered throughout the first year of establishment.’
5. Make mulch for the garden
‘Smaller offcuts of Christmas tree can go straight into the winter compost heap. While pine needles are slightly acidic, mixing them with general garden waste and kitchen scraps balances the compost’s pH and adding these materials boosts microbial activity and introduces a source of slow-release carbon, which benefits future compost batches,’ advises Nigel.
Shredding or breaking the branches first speeds up decomposition and helps aerate the pile, and if you have access to a garden shredder, it will make the job of turning your tree into mulch or wood chippings that much easier. ‘Pine mulch helps suppress weeds, retain soil moisture, and slowly enriches soil structure as it breaks down. It also releases a pleasant natural scent as it decomposes,’ adds Nigel.
Shop for garden shredders
Bosch Corded Electric Shredder
Powerbase Quiet Crushing Shredder
6. Support ponds and wetland corners
‘In gardens with ponds, real Christmas trees can also be used to improve structure and shelter within the water,’ suggests Nigel.
‘Submerging small branches provides cover for fish and amphibians, helping them hide from predators and rest during colder months. Ensure that all decorations and tinsel are completely removed first, and only use untreated, chemical-free trees.’
7. Recycle responsibly
‘If your garden space is limited or you prefer professional disposal, many councils and charities offer tree recycling collections in January,’ suggests Nigel. ‘Trees collected through these schemes are often composted, chipped, or used in large-scale habitat restoration projects such as sand dune stabilisation or riverbank protection.’
‘Local wildlife trusts and community groups sometimes accept tree donations for use in conservation areas, turning festive waste into environmental benefit. This ensures that even if you don’t have the space to repurpose your tree yourself, it still contributes to local biodiversity efforts.’
Did you have a real Christmas tree this year? How do you plan to recycle it…let us know.
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