Yes, you can compost your Christmas tree – but you'll need to do this first if you want it to break down properly

If you’ll be taking your Christmas tree down soon and you opted for a real one this year, you might be wondering the same thing as me: can you compost a Christmas tree?

Well, the short answer is that you can compost a Christmas tree, if you aren’t already recycling it for mulch – but you’ll need to have a few preparations in place first. Sadly, it isn’t a case of sticking your tree on top of the pile and hoping for the best – for one, you’ll need to get chopping if you want it to decompose properly.

Here’s what you need to do.

So, can you compost a Christmas tree? According to BBC gardening broadcaster Mark Lane, you can – but it can take a while to reach that earthy ‘black gold’ gardeners dream of, especially if you don't prepare it properly in advance.

‘The simple answer is yes, but it could take years to decompose,’ Mark says. ‘Christmas trees make excellent bases for composts.’

As I mentioned before, it’s not a case of popping your Christmas tree on top of the compost pile and leaving it to do its thing. If you’ll be recycling your Christmas tree for compost, you’ll need to chop it right down first, and make sure you’ve got rid of all the tinsel and other festive bits and bobs beforehand.

‘Remove all decorations, and if possible, remove the needles and chop, ideally shred, everything into small pieces,’ Mark advises.

The Mac Allister Corded 80kg/hr 2400W Impact Shredder, £90 at B&Q, is ideal for green, soft and woody garden waste.

Once you’ve chopped your Christmas tree needles right down, you can throw them on your compost heap. Of course, you’ll need a good mix of brown and green materials to make the perfect compost – and the shredded, woody bits of the Christmas tree, as Mark said, make a brilliant brown base.

‘A good mix of both green and brown materials will balance the compost well,’ says Morris Hankinson, founder of Hopes Grove Nurseries. ‘Green materials break down well and add nitrogen and nutrients, which will help the microbes in the compost to thrive.’

Pine needles have a waxier coating than other plants you’d throw on the compost heap, so they take longer to break down. There are plenty of other ways to reuse pine needles in the garden, if you decide to remove them.

‘The needles can be added as they are to the surface of soil to increase the acidity of the soil, so they’re great around plants like blueberries and rhododendrons,’ explains Mark.

For the rest of the tree, you’ll need a compost bin…

Try these compost bins

So, you can compost a Christmas tree, as long as you chop it into tiny pieces beforehand, and make sure you balance your heap out with other ingredients. Just steer clear of the things you should never put in your compost bin, too.