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  • Hi, I’m Emily

    Emily Fazio

    I'm a home improvement enthusiast, living a very merry DIY lifestyle.

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Potted Tree Branches

December 12, 2011

I resurrected one of the last issues of ReadyMade (RIP) and flipped to this tutorial on using potting tiny pines for holiday decor. I liked their idea, although I didn’t quite follow what they did (which was buy actual saplings and plant in mason jars):

Potted pine inspiration from ReadyMade.

I snipped a handful of pine branch tips from Pete’s parent’s luxurious property (an abundance of trees from which to cut from is a dream), and set out to make some mantle decor that would (hopefully) last until Christmas week.

Collected pine branches rested in a vase soaking water for a few days.

The branches felt healthy after having soaked the the cut ends in water for a few days, so I brought out some potting soil and clay pots from the basement. I’m not sure how long they’ll last “planted” in potting soil, because I don’t intend to keep watering them like you would a Christmas tree. I did line the bottom of each clay pot with a piece of plastic to keep any loose soil and hint of moisture from falling through the drainage hole of the clay pot, so I could probably water lightly if I wanted, but in a perfect world, they’d need to be much more saturated than what sitting in damp soil would permit. If I had used Ball Jars instead, I could have soaked them, but then what’s the point since they aren’t going to re-root themselves? (Bonus: The potting soil can be reused, no waste.)

Pine branch, planted. I don’t know enough about pine species, but one tree that I cut from had long, soft needles. The branches are droopy, more like a Charles Schultz tree. I think it’s charming. Plus, this tiny branch was planted in my tiniest pot, increasing the petite-cuteness factor.

Tiny pot, tiny tree cuteness.

I’m probably way more obsessed with these little guys than I should be considering they’ll likely be dead by Christmas day. The whole project had me singing Queen’s Keep Yourself Alive chorus (jump to 1:10).

Ok, distracted. I transitioned some items off the mantle and top of the bookshelf, I grouped these little guys together to decorate the whole room. I left the color block art and a sketch of Cody just because I like them + the pop of color they bring to the living room.

Pine branch decor on the mantle. Pine branch decor on the bookshelf. Pine branch decor on the mantle.

I found some branches that still held tiny pine cones. Adorable.

Tiny tree, tiny pine cone cuteness.

Anyone else attempting creative holiday decor with freebies found in the backyard?

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Decor  / DIY  / Holiday-Related Projects  / Living Room

Emily
I'm a home improvement enthusiast, living a very merry DIY lifestyle. I've been a freelancer writer for 10+ years and you can find my work on popular home and garden sites, like HGTV.com. Follow me on facebook and instagram, or drop me a note.

4 Comments


Elisa @ The Self Life
December 12, 2011 at 8:33 am
Reply

Thanks for the early morning jam! Hah. The pups and I will have to go on a mission for pine cones and now evergreen snippets :D



    Emily
    December 12, 2011 at 9:04 am

    Awesome! Glad to have inspired :)

Rachel
December 14, 2011 at 2:10 pm
Reply

Great idea! I will have to try singing that song to my next plant endeavor because everything I plant is pretty much going to die… Soon!



    Emily
    December 14, 2011 at 2:18 pm

    Ooh, unrelated to the post but related to dying plants: I had been trying to give the house plants loads of light and some were starting to look bummed out in the last month, so I took a chance and moved them all out of the light but next to the baseboard heating and within 12 hours (no joke) they were all happy and looking as spry as if they were on the deck in the sun. I think they were just too cold. Try it?

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  • HI, I’m Emily

    Emily Fazio

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