When it comes to Christmas trees, it's au natural or nothing

"How long will your Christmas tree be up this year?"

There's a running joke about how long my family keeps our tree up at our house in Happy Valley-Goose Bay.

It's definitely more than a few days or weeks. It was probably Easter by the timewe finally tossed the last oneout of the back door, destined for the wood heap.

Truth is I'm a bit of a tree hugger and yes, I feel a little guilty about cutting a real tree down just for the holidays. But is putting up an artificial one really an option for us?

My wife says no. She's firmly in the real tree camp. What I don't know is if our preferred choice is the greenest one.

Artificial or real?

Decorating a Christmas tree is one of the great joys of the holiday season, but it's no longer just about finding one that's the perfect height and shape.

The debate over whichkind of Christmas tree is the most environmentally friendly crops up every year.

There's everything on the market from fake trees in ever colour imaginable to realones trucked in from Nova Scotia tree farms. Another option is simply cutting one down yourself in thewoods. There are also potted Christmas trees you can rent if you live in towns where they're available.

Onone hand, artificial trees can be used year after year but they are made of plastic in factories thousands of kilometres away.

On the other, a real Christmas tree is natural (with a built-inwoodsyscent) but it's arguably wasteful to cut down a living tree that will likely end up in the landfill after the holidays.

Artificial trees are popular becausepeople like the convenience of not having to clean up dropped needles and water a real tree, plus you can store it in a box when it's not in use.

But Marilyn Kinden says she will always put up a natural tree at Christmas time.

As fast as a tree came off the back of the truck, it was grabbed.- Marilyn Kinden

She and her husband Everett have been operating a Christmas tree farm in Lewisporte for more than 25 years.

A six-and-a-half- or seven-foot tree takes about sevenyears to grow on the farm, and Kinden says it'shandled a minimum of 90 times while it's being taken care of over that time period.

A real tradition dying out

Kinden grew up with the tradition of getting a real Christmas tree. Seeing it decorated with gifts beneath it was always an exciting event, she said.

But Christmas traditions aredying out, she said, and demand for real trees isn't what it used to be.

"Years ago it was just crazy," Kindentold CBC's Labrador Morning, saying that people would line up waiting for trees to arrive on the lot.

"As fast as a tree came off the back of the truck, it was grabbed."

Over the years, the couple has faced obstacles with trees being destroyed by bad weather, aphids and pesky moose who love chowing down on fresh balsam.

She said her 86-year-old father wouldn't have believed what he saw at the farm a few years ago if he hadn't seen it for himself.

"He saw a a moose literally get down on his belly. Like, all four legs was all stuck out on his side, two on each side, and it just was shimmying in under the wire fence to get into the farm."

They've scaled the farm back now that Kinden's husband is getting older. This yearthey have a limited number of trees, and they'll be selling just about 30 per cent of what they've sold in previous years.

Most people go artificial these days, she said, and many places like nursing homes, rental units andeven some business don't allow real trees because of insurance issues.

A real Christmas tree could be a fire hazard if it dries out, she said, but one can last for a month in your home if it's taken care of. That meanswatering it daily andkeeping it away from a heat source.

The environmental impact

CBC's Emily Chung writes that at least two studies have compared artificial to natural trees: one by the American Christmas Tree Association representing artificial tree manufacturers, the other an independent study carried out by Ellipsos, an environmental consulting firm based in Montreal.

• Real versus fake Christmas trees: Which one's greener?

The studies look at the greenhouse gases emissions, among other factors.

Fake trees manufactured in factories use up resources and produce greenhouse gases, but there's also debate over how much carbon a real tree sucks up in the first 20 years of its life versus how much it releases.

Both studies found that the overall environmental impact of buying a fake or a real Christmas tree is minimal compared with flying or driving a few hours to see friends and family over the holidays, Chung wrote.

Her advice? Buy a real tree that's locally grown and don't drive too far to get it. Also, mulch the real tree when you're done with it. If you do buy a fake tree, make it last and give it away rather than tossing it in the trash.

The studies suggest keeping the same artificial tree for at least eightyears, she wrote, but preferably more than 20 years to minimize the carbon impact.

Potted trees

Renting potted Christmas trees is another option available in provinces like Ontario and Alberta, as well as across the pond.

Craig Tennock of Cotswold Fir runs a business in the United Kingdom that rents potted Christmas trees, and he's even got repeat customers who want the same tree year after year.

"It's a family member. When you put a tree in the ground and you come back once a year and you get your tree, you recognize perhaps a quirky branch that sticks out to the left, or it's grown up a bit more. It's a theme for the kids," he said.

Millions of cut trees are tossed to the curb in London during the annual Christmas carnage, Tennock said, and an environmental ethos has caught on in the United Kingdom, one that says it's a good thing to put a live Christmas treeback in the field to be cared for until the next holiday season.

Back in this province, the Kindens of Lewisporte say they looked at the idea of renting out potted Christmas trees at their farm, but didn't pursue it given just how costly of a setup it would be, not to mention the trouble they've had with moose.

It's a family member. When you put a tree in the ground and you come back once a year and you get your tree, you recognize perhaps a quirky branch.- Craig Tennock

Getting a living, breathing potted Christmas tree, and then planting it in the garden in the springtime is for me the most heartwarming option.

It's something my parents did when I was growing up in Ontario, and the towering Christmas trees in their yard bring back fond Christmas memories of my childhood.

But potted Christmas trees aren't readily available in Happy Valley-Goose Bay.

Going natural

This week, my family put up a Christmas tree in our living room, all decked out with decorations and lights and smelling of fir.

A fake tree made of plastic simply doesn't cut it in our household. It's just not natural, and we're not about to spray fake pine scentto make up for it.

Our real Christmas tree will be our trusty companion over the holidaysand, easing my guilt, my wife reassures me that our Christmas tree grown on a farm is happily doing what was meant to do.

It's a proud, glorious tree that wasdestined to be decorated, and we're going to take care of it this holiday season.

Read morefrom CBC Newfoundland and Labrador