Rosa Steppanova

5 December, 2007

"TREES, effin' trees, you and your effin', effin' trees."

Every time I collected a hessian-wrapped bundle from a Scottish forestry nursery at the Holmsgarth terminal during the 1980s I had to steel myself for this charming welcome. My "P&O Tree Man" was a docker nearing retirement, and he once told me in no uncertain terms that the only acceptable trees to come through the sooth mooth were dead trees - cut up into fence posts.

Attitudes towards trees in the landscape have gradually changed in Shetland over the years and even some tree sceptics have been known to plant a few. Given the uncertain returns, financial incentives, such as the recent Northern Isles Locational Premium negotiated by Shetland Amenity Trust, might have something to do with this.

Such schemes don't encourage the planting of conifers, but substantial numbers of coniferous trees should have reached these shores over the past few weeks. The Christmas season is in full swing and in many Shetland homes the tree is already decorated and lit up. But how green is it and what impact is it going to have on your carbon footprint?

At the first glance it doesn't look too good. Why waste valuable land for the production of a commodity that takes a number of years to reach a desirable size then is not only discarded after four weeks' use, but has to be transported over a considerable distance?

On closer inspection the picture brightens considerably. Many conifers, including those grown as Christmas trees, will thrive on marginal land that is unsuitable for agricultural or horticultural production. What's more, during their life span these trees will remove a lot more greenhouse gases from the atmosphere than they produce. Let's add transport, mechanised cultivating and felling, and disposal and we're probably edging a little closer to a carbon neutral product.

It also gets a little worse in the green department. Conifers, compared to broadleaved trees don't play a very important part in the food chain, and Christmas trees always raised in monoculture are a dead loss when it comes to biodiversity. The land they occupy could be used in a more ecologically sound way by willows grown for short rotation coppice.

There is also the small matter of artificial fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides to consider, unless you can find an organic source for your tree.

So what are the alternatives? A pot-grown tree will set you back a proud sum but is probably a wise investment for the environment as well as your purse. Kept indoors for no more than ten days, regularly misted with cold water while in a heated room, re-potted annually, and plunged in a sheltered spot outdoors, it could last you a decade or more.

Christmas has always been susceptible to fads and fashions, and the sale of artificial trees has steadily risen over the past decade. Everlasting plastic trees are a matter of taste but if made from recycled materials they're perhaps not such a bad idea. It's certainly a way to substantially cut down on tree miles. I never dreamt of warming to artificial trees, but rather like those not pretending to be the real thing: green, and hopefully recycled coils that spring up into perfect cones once released from their restraints.

There are of course ideal ways of having a more or less real Christmas tree. One is by growing your own. Even a small garden has space for the production of two or three moderately sized conifers - I'm thinking of keeping a succession going over three or more years. The only difficulty I can see is finding the heart to cut down a perfect young tree. You could root-ball it for its indoor season before returning it to the garden in early January.

With a larger piece of land at your disposal why not be the first to grow Christmas trees commercially in Shetland, albeit in a small way, and preferably organically? Coniferous forest transplants cost next to nothing and, provided you create some shelter, they almost grow themselves. Shetland Amenity Trust's woodlands department should be able to give you advice regarding the choice of species and methods of cultivation.

But my favourite approach to the Christmas tree dilemma is a rather personal one. My late father was a perfectionist when it came to Christmas trees. They had to display a picture book symmetry, and if they didn't, he'd help matters along a bit - but that was a well-kept family secret.

Nobody knew that he'd drilled little holes in the stem of the tree and inserted small branches to cover up any sparse areas or bald patches. I'd like to take this a stage further and have a green pole with holes arranged in natural patterns. Finding conifer branches to fit them would be child's play on a croft with several, and partly coniferous, shelterbelts. I believe that even my "P&0 Tree Man" would approve of such a tree.