Monterey Pine Potted Christmas Tree

The Monterey Pine is a tough, willing tree, provided you remember what it is: an outdoor pine that visits the house for Christmas. Treat it that way, and it will be back next year.

• When It Arrives: Unpack a couriered tree straight away, take the wrapping off the root ball, stand it upright and water it until water runs from the base. A tree that has spent a few days in a carton can arrive thirsty and a little flat at the tip; a deep drink and a few days outdoors in bright shade bring it back. If Christmas is still weeks away, leave it outside in the sun and bring it in when you are ready to decorate.
• Indoors at Christmas: Two to three weeks is the limit. Choose the brightest position you have, near a window if you can, and keep it away from heaters, air-conditioner vents and hot western glass. Stand the pot or bag inside a tub, half barrel or lined basket so you can water without marking the floor.
• Watering: Check the potting mix every day or two with a finger. It should feel moist a few centimetres down: never dust-dry, never sitting in water. Indoors, a slow litre or two at a time is better than a flood, and any water standing in the tub after an hour should be tipped out. Overwatering is the more common mistake with a potted tree; yellowing needles low in the crown are the sign.
• Decorating: Use LED lights, which run cool. Lights, tinsel and lighter ornaments can go anywhere; heavier pieces belong on the thicker wood near the trunk, because a pine’s outer shoots are fine and will bend. The needles have a point, so gloves make the job more comfortable.
• Back Outside: After Christmas, do not move it straight from the lounge room into January sun. Give it about a week in a sheltered, shaded spot, then move it into full sun. Foliage that has softened indoors will scorch if it is not eased back.
• Through the Year: Full sun, in the open, and regular water through summer; a pine in a pot dries out far faster than one in the ground. Feed lightly in late summer and again in late winter with a fertiliser for ornamental trees or a seaweed tonic. A little goes a long way.
• Potting Up: In autumn, move it into a container one size larger with a fresh, free-draining potting mix. If the roots are circling tightly when you lift it out, tease the outer ones loose first. This is what keeps it healthy enough to come inside again, and it is a yearly job: a radiata fills a pot quickly.
• Keeping Its Shape: A pine is trimmed while it is growing, not while it is resting. In spring and early summer the tree pushes out pale new shoots called candles. While they are still soft, and the new needles are about half grown, shorten the longest candles by a third to a half. The tree then sets new buds at the cut and comes back denser. Two rules matter: do not trim once the new growth has hardened, and never cut back past green needles into bare wood, because a pine will not reshoot from it.
• Planting Out: When it has outgrown the house, plant it in autumn, when the days are mild and the nights are cool, so it can root in over winter. It needs full sun, soil that drains, and a great deal of room: a radiata in the ground becomes a very large tree. That means a large block, a paddock or a rural property, well clear of buildings, fences and power lines, and not beside bushland, where it can seed into the bush. Water it through its first summer or two.

For more on living with a real tree, read our Ultimate Christmas Tree Care Guide.