Wondering how to display a Christmas tree in a decorative container or vintage brass planter? This high-end, magazine-worthy holiday look is easier than you think. Learn how to use quick-setting concrete and a wooden dowel to create a sturdy stand for your tree — without damaging your container.
When my mother-in-law gave me a gorgeous vintage brass planter she was no longer using, I knew immediately I had to put a Christmas tree in it.
Is there a more stunning combo?
The challenge was figuring out how to secure the tree in the planter, without ruining the vintage brass urn or the tree or risking any ornaments once it’s fully decorated.
This post is sponsored by Nearly Natural, but all opinions are my own. Read my full disclosure policy here.
For this project, I started by looking at artificial trees on the Nearly Natural website. They have a stunning selection of artificial Christmas trees, everything from petite tabletop trees to stately 10-foot beauties.
I chose the 6-foot Belgium Fir “Natural Look” Tree because it has a very traditional feel and realistic look. Plus, it was a good size for my vintage brass planter.
How to Choose a Container for a Christmas Tree
Since my planter was about 16 inches tall and 15 inches in diameter, I didn’t want a huge tree that would overwhelm it. The tree I chose is 38 inches in diameter, which works really well with my container.
When choosing a Christmas tree to use in a planter, make sure to consider the size of the container and the size of the tree. You don’t want a tree that is too wide or top heavy. It could fall or look disproportionate.
You also want to be mindful of the height of the tree and the height of the container. We have tall ceilings in our living room, so this wasn’t an issue for us. But if your container is raised, like an urn, or has feet, it could make your tree too tall for your space.
How to Display a Christmas Tree in a Decorative Container
If you’re using a basket or even a wooden box as a Christmas tree collar, you may be able to cut it to accommodate the stand that comes with your tree.
Some containers may even be big enough to accommodate a tree stand — like the basket Christmas tree collar I use for our main living room tree.
But that wasn’t an option with my vintage brass planter. The stand was too large to fit inside the brass container. So I had to figure out another way to secure the tree without it toppling over.
I tried nestling rocks and pavers around the center pole of the tree. But that didn’t work when I added the top sections. The tree was just too heavy to stand on its own.
What did work was this technique from the Hunted Interior. We poured quick-set concrete into a plastic bucket and mounted a dowel rod in the center.
The hollow pole of the Nearly Natural tree slides right over wooden dowel.
Once the concrete had set and hardened, we placed the concrete-filled bucket inside the planter. Then, we cut the dowel rod so the bottom of the tree would skim the top of the planter.
Once you’ve done that, you can assemble, fluff and decorate the tree as you normally would.
Supplies
For this project, we used:
- quick-set concrete (we used about 3/4 of a 50-pound bag.)
- 3/4-inch diameter, 4-foot long wooden dowel (choose the largest dowel that will fit in your Christmas tree pole)
- circular saw
- plastic gloves
- water
- bucket for mixing concrete
- trowel
Here’s a short video explaining exactly what we did. I definitely recommend checking out Kristin’s step-by-step tutorial.
We followed her tutorial pretty closely . The only modification I made was to pour the concrete into a plastic bucket plastic, rather than lining the brass planter with a garbage bag. This meant we didn’t have to use as much concrete.
I’m thrilled with how this turned out, and I love my beautiful new Nearly Natural tree.
It’s so realistic and full, and I’m loving how it looks “naked” — undecorated except for the pretty ribbon woven through it.
Do. you think I should leave it this way or add ornaments?
Pin This! How to Display a Christmas Tree in a Brass Planter
William
Thank you for the information! We found a footed brass container with a wide base and used our outdoor umbrella stand to hold up the tree (NO concrete required!) Also, because it’s larger, we could put our 7’ tree in it and keep the proportions looking natural.
Wish I could upload a photo for everyone to reference.