Catnip Christmas

What to do with old Christmas trees has been a problem for over a century.

Composting Old Xmas Trees Takes A Long Time

Some are just thrown on to the garden waste (where they can last a very, very, long time before they decompose) ... so not that popular anymore.

 

Others take them down the tip, where they may be chopped up by super composters and then sold to gardeners as mulch or bedding compost.

Councils And Bio-Fuel Companies, Will Chop Up Old Xmas Trees.

And now of course there are some areas where they can be passed over to bio-fuel companies where they are burnt for electricity production.

Yet others, plant them in the garden in the hope that they will take and root ..... they can then be reused next year ~ tip only Christmas trees that still have a root ball can be successfully re-planted. They are even being used to bolster flood defences, such as on the River Bollin, where they are placed along river banks to help reduce bank erosion.

Xmas Trees Used To Bolster River Defences ....

But by far the best use for old Christmas trees I have heard of is to give them to big cats in Zoos and Parks, for whom  they act like catnip, sometimes known at catmint, which is a plant of the mint family and can cause many cats euphoria ... and for reasons that are unclear to me, Christmas Trees have the same effect on the really big boys.

Tigers Like Xmas Trees ...

... And Lions Love Them