With Christmas right around the corner, now is the time to ensure your trees and shrubs are prepared for the added stress the holidays will bring to them. For example, if you plan on hanging lights on your trees, leaving them there is not a good idea. Remember to remove them because if you have a healthy tree that is growing it possibly can choke and kill it. Also, installation of these lights should be done by professionals, safety devices such as ropes and saddles should be used to protect the client from liability and injury to the tree.
Fertilization and systemics should be soil injected to prepare your trees for the coming growing season.
Pine, Spruce and fir are not the only trees you can use for Christmas decoration. Understanding these trees are not expected to thrive here and for many reasons. Here in north Texas our native cedar is a great candidate. If you were to pull it out of the ground, (root ball), yourself it would be the only evergreen tree that you can actually plant and expect to live for the distant future. These trees are excellent in a landscape as a screen.