Having a real Christmas tree for the holidays is one of the best holiday traditions. But, what do you do with your Christmas tree after the holidays? There are actually quite a few ways to recycle or reuse your Christmas tree once the holidays have passed. Here are a few of the best ways to reuse a Christmas tree after the holidays.

Recycle Your Christmas Tree

Live Christmas trees are biodegradable, which means they can be recycled. Here in Michigan, different cities and counties have policies for recycling these beautiful trees. For the most part, Christmas trees can be recycled by simply leaving them out on the curb. Usually, Christmas trees are collected during the first two weeks of January. Before you take your tree to the curb, make sure to remove all decorations and tree stands. If your tree is taller than 6 – 7 ft, then you may need to cut it in half. Check out this helpful link for more information depending on where you live.

Make a Beneficial Mulch Out of Your Christmas Tree

One of the best ways to reuse a Christmas tree is by turning it into a beneficial mulch for your flower beds and gardens. With this method, you have two options. First, you can use the needles as their own mulch. Just take the tree outside and shake the needles into your flower bed as added insulation against the frigid Michigan winter. The second method is to use a wood chipper. With this method, you can turn the entire tree into a beneficial mulch to use throughout the year.

Turn Your Christmas Tree Into Outdoor Firewood

A great way to reuse your Christmas tree is to turn it into firewood for your outdoor fire pit. Throughout the holiday season, we have to fight to keep our tree hydrated. They seem to dry up rather quickly, requiring water nearly every day. At the end of the holiday season, you can finally let it dry out. Take the tree outside and chop it into manageable logs to be used as wonderfully fragrant firewood.

It’s important to note that these logs should not be used in your indoor fireplace. Burning pine, fir, or spruce trees produce a chemical called creosote. Creosote burns extremely hot and can cause a fire to get out of control. The chemical can buildup in the chimney, eventually resulting in a flue fire.

Get Crafty

When the holiday season is over, you’ll have an entire tree worth of crafting material to play with. Get creative! Some people use the trunk, or thick branches, to make cool looking coasters. Simply cut 1 – 2 inch slices from the trunk or thick branches and coat them in polyurethane. The crafty possibilities are endless.

Other Christmas Tree Crafts Include:

• Evergreen Wreaths
• Bird Feeder Stand
• Make Holiday Decorations
• Make an Instrument
• Aquarium or Pond Decoration

Replant It

Finally, you might be able to replant your Christmas tree after the holiday season. This option only works if you bought your tree with the roots still attached. If the tree has been cut, then it can’t be replanted. This is a fun option because, after a few years of doing this, you’ll be able to create your own little Christmas forest.

Need Tree Service? Call PPM Tree Service & Arbor Care

After the holidays are over, make sure you recycle or reuse your Christmas tree. If you have need of any tree service, like removal, cabling, or planting, give us a call at PPM.

For more information on which services are best for you, call us at (877) 454-8733. For the top tree care tips from the experts, head over to our blog. If you want to stay up to date on our latest deals and news, follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Michigan winters can be cold and long. We spend a lot of our time indoors, trying to keep warm. Having a wood-burning fireplace is a real game-changer. Cozying up to a fire while the winter winds howl outside is one of the best ways to spend a winter day. If you have a fireplace, then safety needs to be on your mind. Here are a few fireplace safety tips to keep you and your family warm and safe this winter.

Choosing and cutting down your own Christmas tree is one of the great holiday traditions. But, which tree is right for you? Are you looking for something with a strong pine smell, the perfect Christmas tree shape, strong branches for ornaments and decorations, or a tree that lasts a long time and retains its needles? We’ve got the guide for you. Here are the five best Christmas trees and what makes them great.

Fall tree care is essential to strengthening your trees before the frigid Michigan winter. While trees may seem huge and sturdy, they do sometimes need us to protect them. Here are a few fall tree care tips that will help set your trees up for success, ensuring they bounce back next spring healthy and ready to thrive.

Michigan’s fall transformation is underway and everyone is in awe. Tourists come from all over to see Michigan’s majestic tree transformation as our fall colors light up the landscape. But, what if you could enjoy the very best of what fall has to offer in your own backyard? You can. Here at PPM Tree and Arbor Care, we’re big fans of trees. We’ve put together a list of the best trees for adding fall colors to your property. Take a look to see what trees work for you and your property.
 

Adding Yellow to Your Property

Quaking Aspen

One of the top trees on any list for the best fall colors is the quaking aspen. This gorgeous tree gets its name from the way it’s leaves seem to quake and tremble in the wind. When fall hits, these quaking leaves turn yellow and gold, adding a beautiful pop of color to your landscape. Not only are they beautiful, quaking aspens are known for living a long time. The clonal colony of aspens in Utah, called Pando, is the oldest living organism on Earth at 80,000 years old!
 

Gingko

This beautiful and ancient tree has existed, unchanged, for 200 million years. Overtime, these trees can reach heights of up to 80 feet tall, keep that in mind when planning on where to plant your gingko. Their unique fan-shaped leaves turn a pale yellow when fall comes around. One pro-tip is to make sure your tree is male, as females will produce foul-smelling (but very healthy) fruits once they reach 20 years of age.
 

Honey Locust

Make sure to get the sunburst honey locust tree to avoid the variations that are adorned with sharp thorns and messy seed pods. The fern-like leaves on the honey locust turn a delicate yellow color in the fall and are a delightful addition to any landscaping.
 

Give Your Lawn a Pop of Orange

Sugar Maple

These maples are some of the most famous trees in North America. The leaf is the national symbol of our northern neighbors, Canada, and the trees themselves provide the northeast with the sweet maple syrup they pride themselves on. Sugar maple trees put on one of the most beautiful shows of color changing of any tree. Colors on this tree range from soft pink to vibrant red, but often fall on the orange scale.
 

Sassafras

Sassafras is another beautiful addition to any Michigan landscaping. Not only is it famous for providing the flavor for root beer, it’s also famous for its fall foliage. The lobed leaves, that sometimes look like the mitten shape of Michigan, turn a bright orange when fall comes around.
 

Bald Cypress

This is the only deciduous tree (needles instead of leaves) we have on this list, but it should make it on any fall color list. Usually, deciduous trees like this stay green all year long, that’s why they’re called evergreens. However, bald cypress trees lose their needles in the fall. Before they drop them, their needles turn a brilliant fiery orange color. Plant one of these beautiful, slow-growing trees to add a pop of orange color to your property.
 

Ruby Red Additions to Your Landscaping

Red Maple

Not to be confused with the crimson maple, which stays a deep red all year long, the red maple only turns red in the fall. However, when the red maple transforms in the fall, it’s quite a show. The leaves change to a magnificent, bright red color that gives it its name. If you’re looking to add a brilliant splash of red to your lawn this fall then the red maple is the tree for you.
 

Black Tupelo

Black tupelo, or black subgum, are trees that are native to the swamplands and coastal areas of America. They have since been used as ornamental trees all over the country and, with fall colors like this, it’s no wonder why. The dark green leaves of the black tupelo turn a brilliant red when fall comes around. The deep green leaves of the black tupelo tree are a favorite snack among deer, so make sure you protect your sapling! It’s also a favorite among pollinators like bees and butterflies in the spring.
 

Scarlet Oak

The scarlet oak is an easy to grow tree can easily become a focal point on your property. Oak trees are known for their sturdiness, strength, and beauty, and the scarlet oak does not disappoint. In the fall, the foliage of the scarlet oak turns a deep red. This oak hangs onto its leaves into the winter, adding a pop of red to the snowy landscape that will be sure to turn heads.
 

Fruitful and Flowering Fall Additions

Dogwood

Dogwood trees are some of the most beautiful ornamental trees to be added to any landscaping. Their fragrant flowers, bright fall foliage, and plentiful fruit make this tree a crowd pleaser all year long. In the fall you will see the leaves that range from pink and purple to orange and red. The flower show lasts throughout the fall and then, in the late fall, you’ll get bright berries all over your tree. These berries provide food for birds of all types which is especially important as birds are in severe decline.
 

Crabapple

Crabapple trees are some of the most beautiful and bountiful trees there are. These trees have something special for every season. Beautiful blooms in the spring, thick foliage and tasty fruit in the summer, blazing colors in the fall, and bright fruit in the winter. Having a crabapple tree in your yard provides a pop of color that lasts deep into the winter. After the tree goes up in a blaze of red, yellow, and orange fall foliage, the leaves will drop, leaving behind bright red or yellow fruit. These trees will be a hub of bird activity throughout the winter!
 

Add Fall Colors to Your Lawn

Enjoying the fall colors of Michigan can be as easy as looking out your back window. Here at PPM Tree and Arbor Care, we offer services like tree planting, pruning, trimming, and removal so you can make sure your trees are getting the best care possible.
 
Give us a call at (877) 454-8733 or request a free quote here.

Fall has arrived here in Michigan and that means one thing: it’s apple orchard season. This is the time of year when it really pays off to be a Michigander. Picking apples, drinking apple cider, eating cider mill donuts; it doesn’t get much better than this. Here’s a list of the best apple orchards to visit in southeast Michigan.

Blake Farms Apple Orchard – Armada, MI

Blake’s is a Michigan staple. With their 15 varieties of apples to pick, seasonal haunted attractions, and not to mention their Michigan-famous Blake’s Hard Cider, this place has something for everyone. Being one of the first u-pick orchards here in Michigan means Blake’s has had years to perfect their craft. Blake Farms Apple Orchards definitely makes the list of best apple orchards to visit in Michigan, every year.

Check out their harvest calendar to see when your favorite apples are ready to be picked!

Prices for Blake Farms Apple Orchard:

• Admission: Free
• U-Pick: $20 minimum per car

Spicer Orchards – Fenton, MI

Spicer Orchards is always one of the top apple orchards in Michigan. Its family-friendly activities and many varieties of tasty apples make it a great weekend excursion for the family. When you come to pick apples at Spicer’s, you and the family get a wagon ride out to the different spots in the orchard, depending on which apples you want to pick. When you’re finished, head into the cider mill for delicious donuts and cider. A day spent at Spicer Orchards is a day well-spent.

Take a look at the harvest schedule to find out when your favorite apples are ripe and don’t forget to check out their winery too!

Prices for Spicer Orchards:

• Admission: Free
• Pick Your Own: $16 per peck
• Corn Maze: $8 and includes cider and donut
• Cider: $5.95 half gallon, $8.95 full gallon
• Donuts: $5.95 half dozen, $8.95 full dozen

Plymouth Orchards & Cider Mill – Plymouth, MI

Established in 1977, Plymouth Orchards & Cider Mill is a beautiful organic-certified working farm to visit this fall. Wagon rides give you a tour of the property while teaching you about the history of the farm. Stop by the farm animals or the u-pick pumpkin patch later in the fall.

Your visit isn’t complete until you check out the cider mill. Here you can pick up fresh apples, warm pies, just-baked donuts, and apple cider. Everything here is fresh, delicious, and brings out the best of fall.

Prices for Plymouth Orchards & Cider Mill:

• Admission: Free
• U-Pick: N/A
• Pie: $4 per slice, $15 – $17 per pie
• Donuts: $1.25 per donut, $3.50 for 3, $5 for 6, and $8 for a dozen
• Cider: $1.50 for 8oz hot cider, $3.50 12oz cold cider, $6 half gallon, $9 gallon
• Cider Slushie: $4 per cup

Diehl’s Orchard & Cider Mill – Holly, MI

Diehl’s is a beautiful orchard located in the quaint town of Holly, MI. While they don’t offer a U-Pick option at Diehl’s, you can still buy apples straight from the farm. Apples aren’t the only things this orchard has to offer. From hiking through the orchards or navigating their corn maze to having a pony ride or watching fresh cider and donuts get made, Diehl’s Orchard & Cider Mill has something for everyone.

Prices for Diehl’s Orchard & Cider Mill:

• Admission: Free
• Orchard Hike: Free
• Corn Maze: $5
• Hay Rides: $3 (weekends only)
• Pony Rides: $6 (weekends only)
• Pre-Packaged Apples: $4 ¼ Peck, $6 ½ Peck, $9 1 Peck
• Pack & Tote Apples: $3.50 ¼ Peck, $5 ½ Peck, $8 1 Peck, $15 ½ Bushel, $28 Full Bushel

Yates Cider Mill – Rochester Hills, MI

It should first be noted that Yates Cider Mill is not an orchard, but it’s full of apple-related food and fun. Founded in 1863, this ancient cider mill is one of the oldest businesses still operating in Michigan. Yates is a household name in Michigan when it comes to apples, cider, donuts, and fall. Come watch how they produce cider the old fashioned way, using water power from the Clinton River and check out the donut making process as well. Make sure you get a taste too, you definitely won’t regret it. Yates Cider Mill offers fresh apple cider, donuts, ice cream, and you can even visit the apple tent to pick yourself a bag of apples.

Have Your Very Own Orchard

Here in Michigan, we’re blessed with the perfect apple-growing environment. The experts at PPM Tree & Arbor Care have the know-how and the experience to help you start an apple orchard in your very own backyard. With tree care, planting, pruning, shaping, and cabling services, PPM Tree & Arbor Care is your one-stop-shop for all your tree care needs.

Give us a call at (877) 454-8733 or request a quote here.

As summer winds down we have one more thing to look forward to in Michigan before the long winter forces us all inside: fall colors. There’s nothing like fall in Michigan. The vibrant colors of all of our trees changing at once paint the landscape in unparalleled beauty.

Anthracnose is a relatively new disease in Michigan and is actually quite common now. It can attack any type of tree but it seems to prefer ash, oak, maple, dogwood, and sycamores the best.

One of the best things about trees is their unique growth patterns. But as trees get bigger and age, large limbs or leaning trees become more vulnerable to high winds, heavy snows, and just plain old gravity.

Here in the great state of Michigan, we cherish our trees. These mighty giants can last for generations, providing us with shade, clean air, and aesthetic beauty.