If you keep it in a cool room, you can have it inside a little longer than that, but what you've heard is basically correct (that indoor heat does serious damage to them).

Might be an idea to put some insulation down on the ground where you intend to plant it, so that the ground isn't frozen when you plant it. And hope for a reasonably mild day when you do plant, as the shock of moving from the hose to outside will be more serious if it is well below freezing

Resin

been there done that ...

dig hole in yard ... fill with bagged leaves ... put soil in wheelbarrow and put in the garage so it is workable when planting ..

close all furnace vents/rads in the room ... set house temp to about 65 ... i have a thermostat that set itself down itself when i left for work .... if you have doors keep the room closed .... anything that keeps the dry heat of the furnace out of the room as much as possible ...

secure good thick plastic to protect the floor ....

the sooner you bring it in.. the sooner it has to go out .... so keep outdoors until you are ready ...

mist everyday .... keep well watered ... dont leave lights on it very long.. little heat suns ... in fact skip the lights since you should mist it everyday ....

acclimate the plant to outdoors if it is real cold out there .... before you throw it outside

go outside ... remove bagged leaves... throw in hole.. dump in soil ... surround with the leaves ....

you will have to plant it properly in spring ....

expect it to die.. and if it doesnt be thrilled ...

finally ... a 4 foot b&b can be very heavy .... make sure no matter what size you buy.. you can move it without back injury ... lugging plants indoors is not like heeving them around the yard ...

i used picea pungens... blue spruce ... it never knew better and grew like a weed .. actually i used 3 conifers... the blue was about 4 feet with the pot ... i dont recall what the others were .. but they all lived ...

just keep them cool and damp.. but dont drown them ... and make sure they are well watered before going outside ...

good luck ..... ken

We sell many live trees for Christmas at my nursery and here is the advice we give:
- Buy the smallest tree you can live with. They are VERY heavy and smaller trees seem to react to the changes of moving indoors to out again with the fewest problems. A 5' tree is problematical in terms of schlepping it around as well as its ability to handle the temperature/humidity swings.
- Acclimate it for a few days by placing it in a somewhat protected area, like a covered porch, garage, etc. before moving it inside.
- Once inside, keep in the coolest location you can manage, well away from heat vents, fireplace, etc. Water daily. We recommend dumping a tray or two of ice cubes on top of the rootball and allowing them to melt slowly.
- Keep inside a MAXIMUM of seven days - less is better, 3 or 4 ideal.
- Reacclimate to the outdoors by going through the same process of placing in a protected location for several days before planting in the ground or holding for later planting.

BTW, since the hazards of holding hardy outdoor plants indoors are many, we do not extend our guarantee policy to live Christmas trees - too many ignore these recommended steps and since the tree appears fine, keep it indoors too long. The effects show up rapidly after planting :-(

Think about it this way-a tree from a cold-winter climate does NOT expect 72 degree temps, day and night, with 7% relative humidity during it's dormant season!!!

You can have great success following the advice above. I have a canaan fir from '03 that would make you proud to be a tree. Yes, they're heavy, and they often look a little rough and yellow around the bottom the first year. Many for sale around this time of year are pruned too heavily in order to achieve a conical Christmas tree shape, so be a little picky about form. This year I'm looking for an antidesiccant that's OK in the home and I'll probably protect the bottom of the tree with some burlap once its outside. I've planted mine on New Years Day the last few years without pre-digging a hole, but then I live in sunny PA and not the wilds of CT. It's the one time each year that my wife tells me to go buy a tree rather than telling me to shut up about the dang trees already.

Planted a white pine this year. Funny tree to decorate. Had to break from tradition and plant on New Year's Eve due to rain in the forcast for New Year's Day.

I agree, some very good advice above! We have done this for the past 7 years now and have only lost 2 trees. We do tend to keep them in the house too long though, more like 3 weeks (when the nursery told us 1-2 weeks max). We either pre-dig the hole (if the weather permits), or just keep it in the garage until we are able to plant it. Do keep it well watered though. One trick that our nursery suggested has worked very well.. we keep wet towels on top of the ball while it's inside and keep the towels wet. This has really helped cut down I think on the needle drop. Good luck to you! It's so nice to see your Christmas tree growing out in your yard in years to come! :)

Hello,

I've been reading the advice on transplanting a Christmas tree outside, and wondered if 50-70º is too cold to do it.

I have had the tree in a pot for 6 years. I had to prune it a lot 2-3 years ago to prevent growing, because I only have a balcony, not a yard, and its shape was starting to be crooked. Despite that, it has always looked healthy. Today I'm going to give it to a friend who has a yard. I know spring would be better, but hope that the California weather is enough for it to thrive. What do you think?
http://weather.yahoo.com/forecast/USCA0882.html
Thank you!

A Christmas tree in a pot for 6 years? Wow, what kind is it exactly? Do you have a pic of it you can post?