Christmas tree rage (because they're poor quality)

[tinkerbell]

Is it just us or is anyone else's tree RUBBISH. we bought one from the place outside The Rose Pub on Forest Hill Road/ Peckham Rye and they supply the ones by the Clock House pub too. It is the worst tree yet. Needles would come off if you blew it gently. We will be chucking it straight after boxing day if it lasts that long.

Anyone got any tips on a good place to buy one locally??? got to get it right next year else it's fake all the way!

[steveo]

You need Keith 07963 730612

He just delivered an eight foot beauty for forty five quid

[uncleglen]

Sod xmas trees- monocultures are so environmentally unfriendly! 3rd one MM

[guna nua]

Bartleys flower shop in the village or Gavin outside the Crown & Greyhound who also sells a very nice rustic looking wooden tub to put tree in , I and many people I know have bought from both these places in the last few years with no disappointment or problems , smell great and minimal needle drop. I would go back to where you bought it from and tell them you are not happy with it, they should give you a replacement or your money back as a gesture of goodwill. I've had bad Christmas tree experiences too ( picked and bought by my ex) so I know how annoying this is causing tree envy when you go to friends and relations houses ! No really !

[Huggers]

I got mine from Keith. In the old Plantnation days he would have to get the whole lot out, but this time I just described my dream tree, tall and narrow. He rummaged around and picked one out. Best one ever. 7ft. 50 quid. and deliverd. Probably could have got it lots cheaper but am very satisfied. Opposite library on corner- but not the charity one, in fact opposite the charity one too.

[Annie France]

Tinkerbell, Keiths trees are good.

[steveo]

It seems to be ten quid a foot everywhere

Didn't they used to cost a farthing?

[EPB]

The Alleyn Park garden centre has some gorgeous ones.

[tinkerbell]

genuinely helpful feedback THANKS EVERYONE

all about Keith from now on ;)

[paulipedia]

I've had one from the Clockhouse for the last 3 years, have all been great. Think you may just have a duff. Good value and they sell them for charity too.

Maybe you should go and speak to them

[verds]

We got ours from the florist on the corner of Lordship Lane and Barry Road - not too expensive, plus it's great and hasn't dropped too many needles. I'm from the Midlands and can't understand why the trees are more than a tenner!

[sanity girl]

I got a lovely tree from the place next to North Dulwich station - ?25 for a 4 footer

[damzel]

We got ours from the Plough and it' the best tree we've ever had. The needles aren't too sharp and pointy and it seems really lush and healthy. 6 foot for 40quid

[Huggers]

I think Barry Road Lordship Lane florist is Keith Central.

[Louisa]

I've stuck with my trusted woolworths special from 1980 and it still hasn't dropped a single needle in 33 years. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it.

Louisa.

[Loz]

Back to Austria this Christmas... a couple of friends popped out the night before last with a handsaw and came back an hour later with an 8 foot corker of a tree. Nicest I've ever seen.

[fl0wer]

This is about the back-story, the countryside.

Many decades ago the Forestry Commission was set up to make sure enough pinewood was available for endless pit-props for UK coal mines. There is still plenty to cut down, as the subsidies continued long after mining declined and investors took advantage. The landscape's crowded commercial softwood trees are dark and don't harbour much wildlife, and leave topsoil "sour" after felling. Telegraph poles used this supply but millions of Spruce trees simply matured, because it was costlier to fell them than to get imports from Scandinavia & Russia - for decades.

Deciduous tree planting is now crucial to preserve biodiversity longer term. Recognising this the subsidies & permits are changing. "Christmas Trees" tend to get grown on old market-garden acres or on that land allocated for pitprops; planning regulations which made 'change of use' difficult, are being redrawn.

Sometimes what you buy is just the top of a tall tree, others will be cut from something smaller.

Here is the good news, many species of evergreen are more suitable as indoor ornaments than the ones you're buying at present, which as everyone soon finds out have a needle-drop problem. Just as pretty but slower growing for example are the Fraser Firs, recommended by the RHS here => http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/profile.aspx?PID=374

& if people start buying container-grown varieties, the nurseryman stays in business, the farmland is freed up, and you save money - which you can donate to a charity if you like.

(This year I am thinking of all those ?45's and the good they could do round the world.)

Your yuletide tree in its permanent tub adorns the festivities every year, indoors for a couple of weeks, and then goes back out to its corner of the garden. Keep them watered & they last about 10 years - not indefinitely, because they eventually need to be planted out altogether. The Fraser is a good choice as it can cope with tough weather/climate change ahead.

This is the most environmentally friendly way of doing things.

[tallulah71]

That seems a great idea. I actually put up a fakey last year having never had one and it was great - and reasonably environmentally friendly since it doesn't have to be burned / thrown away on 6th Jan. The idea of having one for 10 years in a pot is a lovely idea - providing you have the outside space obviously.

[Twirly]

Thank you for that fl0wer, very useful information. We will have a real/cut tree this year as a) we have no outside space b) we have no inside space to store a fake one! But we are about to move house (hopefully!) and I plan on getting a potted one next year. I'll know what to look for now.

[Dopamine1979]

Louisa Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I've stuck with my trusted woolworths special from

> 1980 and it still hasn't dropped a single needle

> in 33 years. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it.

>

>

> Louisa.

I beg you to help me convince Lady Dopamine of this! I hate having to buy a dead tree every year and watch it deteriorate.

[The Rose Dulwich]

Hello Tinkerbell

We offer the space out at The Rose to sell Christmas Trees. The team running the concession are Calum & Roland who are two super guys and also supply The Clockhouse. They have not had any other complaints and I am sure that they would not have any problem replacing your tree if you were not happy with it. It just seems a shame you did not approach them before you posted your remarks on EDF

Thanks 'paulipedia' for your comments of support for the guys

[tinkerbell]

-- moved topic --

[charlie_elise]

We bought ours from the Clockhouse - don't normally go in for a 'real tree' but as we're hosting the family this year thought we'd be a bit more traditional. I have to say I love it, it smells lush and looks great. It's maybe 6 or 7 feet tall and was ?35 (?37 with stand). The chaps at CH were really pleasant and crowned it for us so it was good to go as soon as we got it in the house. We also made some older residents laugh as the two of us carried it home! Must have been quite a sight from their reaction. Next year we'd like to get a pot tree so if there's anywhere selling good ones do recommend (or maybe the CH sellers would like to expand?)

Happy Christmas!

[EPB]

Christmas trees are a bit like giant cut flowers - if they're not kept in a container of water they will quickly shrivel and die.

The trouble with the trees one sees on sale is that since they were cut (weeks ago?) they've not seen a drop of water, so by the time you buy them they're already half dead.

[Grainne17]

I got mine from the rose pub from Calum and found him and Roland to be very helpful and pleasant! Our tree looks great so no complaints from me!