Hello, newbie here... Literally just moved in... Rest of family joining in time for Xmas...
Have been tasked with getting tree... Have read about local firm (in Steinhausen- name of Schlumpf) who have been in business for 30-odd years...
Anyone know where they are?! Have searched a bit but local language still lacking! Would like to use local firm rather than supermarket/ big DIY store.
This might sound stupid but can you keep the tree alive and in the pot - or maybe a bigger one for next year... ?? I am not a gardener so I have no idea how fast christmas trees grow.... maybe I need to plant it in the garden and dig it up every year ... ?
I bought a really pretty tree in Landi for about chf 40 last year. It's just 1.5 meters high, and it sits in a pot. I'll bring it inside in a week or so, and take it back outside after the holidays. It grows slowly and seems to be fine on my terrace, and if watered, fine inside. I didn't want a big tree, and this is perfect for us. I keep it on a wheeled stand so I can move it back and forth the terrace to the living room.
I think I'm going to do that. I hate the thought of the needles dropping and all the mess, and I don't want to kill a tree just so I can have something pretty in the house....
That's only about CHF39 more than buying a good looking, healthy tree and having to schlepp it yourself on your shoulder through the streets. Or hiring a car to transport it. Or buying a car and paying the losses on that so you can schlepp in four wheel comfort.
And being left with a dead tree. And not being able to replant it.
Personally, I buy one on the street around the corner from my pad and schlepp it on my shoulder, as I'm manly.
But then I'm left with a dead tree, which gets lobbed off the balcony onto the street, where it gets collected by the city and pulped.
You pay CHF 100 for a Christmas tree in Zürich?!! We common people here in Basel have shops called Jumbo and Obi, even Coop and Migros, where decent, two-metre tall Christmas trees may be acquired for half that amount, or less.
The post you replied to contains the answer to your question ("... deliver a living tree ...") even though the xmas tree you buy isnt' altogether dead yet. But it's definitely and irrevocably moribund.
Anyway, by New Year the tree will be dry, which is why there's a dedicated waste collection on/around January 6 in many communes. The dried-out xmas trees are actually a major hazard, each year quite a few apartments/houses burn because a dry xmas tree caught fire. Typically they're ignited by a traditional candle.
Standard rule:
Do not light the candles once the needles have turned semi-dry. If they fall like rain when you merely touch the tree it can be fully alight (alit? whatever: burning) within a few seconds (literally!) .
Early I know, but it is worth checking the day that your commune are picking up the trees in January - around this time now, most people will be getting or got the newsletter for 2016 rubbish/recycling or those free calendars from local shops may show the date, sometime around 6th January, could be up to a week later.
We missed our date one year as it was 6th January and did not have the tree ready for collection - as it was a live tree, we kept it for a few months, before putting outside for free pick up for someone to take for their roof/balcony