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What If Everyone Planted Their Own Christmas Tree?
WHAT IF
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12/29/2023
How would this change Christmas festivities?
Category
📺
TV
Transcript
Display full video transcript
00:00
(beeping)
00:02
(explosion)
00:04
It's the most wonderful time of the year.
00:10
Until you get the bill.
00:13
With skyrocketing prices
00:15
around this celebratory fir tree,
00:18
it makes you wonder.
00:21
What if everyone planted their own Christmas tree?
00:26
How long would it take to grow a tree?
00:30
What exactly is a root ball?
00:34
And would reusing an artificial tree
00:38
be better for the environment?
00:41
This is WHAT IF,
00:43
and here's what would happen
00:45
if everyone planted their own Christmas tree.
00:49
Desired for its unique colors and shape,
00:52
the Fraser fir is popular with people
00:55
who celebrate Christmas.
00:57
So if you grew your own Christmas tree,
01:01
are you canceling Christmas?
01:04
According to a 2018 Nielsen study,
01:09
95 million households in the United States
01:12
celebrated Christmas with a tree.
01:15
So growing your own tree
01:17
might elevate your family traditions.
01:20
And it doesn't really matter where you live.
01:23
In North America,
01:25
this evergreen fir grows in all 50 states
01:28
and throughout Canada.
01:30
So how would you get started?
01:33
Well, if you grow the seedling yourself,
01:37
it takes an average of seven years
01:40
for it to reach two meters.
01:42
But if you'd like to get started right away,
01:45
you could try replanting your Christmas tree.
01:49
You'll want to acclimatize the tree first.
01:52
Just leave it in a cool place,
01:54
like a garage, for a couple of days.
01:56
This lets it go dormant.
01:58
Heads up, though.
01:59
You might have some problems with this method.
02:02
Without a root ball,
02:04
the mass of main roots at the bottom of a plant,
02:07
it might be difficult to replant your tree.
02:11
So if you don't have a root ball,
02:14
take pencil-thick cuttings from a fresh young tree.
02:18
Remove the needles from the bottom stems
02:21
and plant the cutting deeply,
02:23
so these stubs are below ground.
02:26
Keep your fingers crossed
02:28
and hope that the stubs grow into a makeshift root system.
02:32
Your chances are better
02:34
if the Christmas tree has a root ball.
02:37
When planting your tree,
02:39
find a spot where you can dig a hole
02:41
at least twice the size of the root ball.
02:44
Give it a hole five times bigger if you can.
02:47
And try to dig in the middle of the day
02:50
so that the soil won't be frozen.
02:53
Place your tree in the hole
02:55
and put the soil you removed back in.
02:58
Then top it with several inches of mulch
03:01
and lots of water.
03:03
And remember to fertilize it in the spring.
03:06
You might need to do this process
03:08
a few times before it works.
03:10
So don't be discouraged
03:12
if your first tree doesn't make it past January.
03:15
And although the tradition might catch on,
03:18
how would it impact the Christmas tree industry?
03:21
Not every person will have a place
03:24
or the right climate
03:26
to grow and maintain a Christmas tree.
03:29
Maybe city planners could organize spaces
03:32
for people to plant their trees
03:34
in honor of this new tradition.
03:36
We might rethink how humans and agriculture
03:39
can live side by side in urban areas.
03:42
Right now, over 100,000 people
03:45
have full or part-time jobs
03:47
because of this seasonal crop.
03:50
But if we have trees that last for years
03:53
instead of a few weeks,
03:56
there would be less demand
03:58
for new trees each year.
04:00
And many tree farms would go out of business.
04:04
But let's face it.
04:06
Whether you're growing, replanting,
04:08
or recycling a tree,
04:10
you're taking on a lot of work.
04:12
So why not just buy an artificial tree?
04:16
Reusing an artificial tree
04:18
would reduce the environmental impact
04:21
of buying an artificial tree,
04:23
for a while.
04:25
But eventually,
04:27
even this thrifty alternative
04:29
made from PVC and steel
04:31
and shipped from China
04:33
will end up in a landfill.
04:35
And if more people plant their own trees,
04:38
it could eliminate the artificial tree industry.
04:41
You could be dreaming of a green Christmas.
04:45
Of course, the real future of the Christmas tree
04:48
lies in the hands of science.
04:50
The Fraser fir tree doesn't handle mold well,
04:54
and it's likely to get root rot.
04:57
Add to that,
04:59
there's the threat of an invasive wingless insect,
05:02
the balsam woolly adelgid,
05:05
which came to North America from Europe.
05:08
The rampant destruction these insects cause
05:11
put the Fraser fir on the IUCN Red List
05:15
of Threatened Species.
05:17
To adapt to this threat,
05:19
scientists are creating hybrid plants,
05:22
grafting the roots of mommy firs
05:24
to the branches of Fraser firs.
05:27
But this genetic engineering
05:30
isn't cheap or quick.
05:33
If you're looking to make a lower impact
05:35
on the environment this year,
05:37
look for a locally sourced real tree,
05:40
or reuse an artificial tree
05:43
for at least five years.
05:45
You'll reduce greenhouse gas emissions
05:48
by decreasing shipping distances.
05:51
And with more than 4,000
05:54
free local Christmas recycling programs
05:57
throughout the United States,
05:59
it's not hard to safely dispose of a tree.
06:03
Now that you're practicing conservation
06:06
on a small scale,
06:07
it's time to start thinking globally
06:09
about our most abundant resources.
06:12
Like, what if we powered the planet
06:16
with seawater?
06:18
Well, that's a story for another WHAT IF.
06:24
(dramatic music)
06:27
(dramatic music)
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1:06
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