Evergreen In A Container, Outdoor/Indoor

Question

I would like to purchase an evergreen in a container and keep it outdoors until the Christmas season. Then place it in Church for the holidays–return it outdoors for the rest of the year. Am I asking too much of a plant?

Answer 1

This is asking a lot of the plant. Staying outdoors until Christmas is fine and bringing it indoors is fine, but it is the placing it back outdoors that is the problem. What happens when you bring it indoors is that it causes the plant to come out of dormancy. Many things happen in dormancy that protect the tree from the cold and when it comes out of dormancy, it loses that protection. Trees can make it if placed back outside, but their chances of dying increase significantly, especially if where you live gets very cold in the winter.