KEITHVILLE, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – Would life be easier if you could buy a Christmas tree that would magically decorate itself and help the planet? Because that can happen when you buy Christmas-season trees and shrubs from a Shreveport plant nursery.
"Ever since Covid, people have gotten more focused on sustainable living," said Kim Liles. She and her husband, Robert, own Louisiana Nursery on Mansfield Road in Keithville. "We have the Eastern Red Cedar, Leland Cypress, Green Giant, and different types of Hollys. You can even have a boxwood that's shaped like a cone."
Meet Yaupon Holly, a plant native to North America that has thick, Christmas-green leaves and some of the prettiest little red berries that you've ever seen. It starts blooming in early winter and really pops out around Christmastime when the green leaves and merry red berries make quite a fashion statement.
Yaupon holly is also called Ilex vomitoria because it can make you puke if you eat it, but we're going to avoid that side effect by simply not eating it.
But if Yaupon holly is just too far away from the idea of a traditional Christmas tree, there is another option that can bring your family joy at Christmas before being planted outdoors to make the earth a prettier place to live year-round: the Eastern Red Cedar.
The Eastern Red Cedar is a beauty, but it's not actually a cedar tree. Eastern Reds are actually junipers, as there are no native cedars in the United States.
It's a common tree, evergreen, and thrives in the eastern parts of North America. It loves to grow along fencerows and will reproduce quickly. Easter Red Cedars are drought- and heat-resistant and also resistant to cold. Want to stick it in an area with poor soil? No problem. It can also thrive in a swamp.
To say that Eastern Red Cedars are versatile is an understatement.
The blue fruits on Eastern Reds are favorites of the Cedar Waxwing (bird), and these gorgeous trees can live for more than 500 years.
And if you want a Christmas tree that you can buy at a plant nursery to use as your Christmas tree, this is an excellent choice. You'll make many a bird happy for years to come if you plant an Eastern Red on your property.
Our next tree, the Bald Cypress, isn't an obvious choice for a Christmas tree unless you're going for the Charlie Brown tree look, which is absolutely adorable.
The Bald Cypress is fast growing, one of the most beautiful trees in North America (we're stating that as if it's a fact because it feels true), and the lifespan of a Bald Cypress is longer than that of most nations.
Native to the southeast, this tree is tough as a boot and it's cool with being planted in wet, salty, dry, or even swampy conditions. And if you've never seen the show a Bald Cypress puts on in the autumn when the "leaves" begin to change color and drop to the ground, you need to put such a vision on your bucket list.
But remember: this tree is not an evergreen. Buying a live Bald Cypress might even look dead by Christmas, but that's okay. It will come to life in spring after you plant it in January. It's also a great way to teach children about how some trees lose their foliage in autumn only to regrow it again in spring.
If you're wondering how long you should keep your tree indoors after Christmas so that you can safely plant it outdoors, Liles gives advice that will ease your mind of worries. She said you plant it outside when the holidays are over. You don't need to wait for spring.
"It's actually happier outside," Liles said. "Just plant it after Christmas. You don't need to fertilize it because we've (Louisiana Nursery has) already put fertilizer in your pot."
If you have questions about what trees and shrubs will be best to use during the holidays and then plant outdoors when the festivities end, contact Robert and Kim Liles at Louisiana Nursery or call (318) 925-0971.
