A Christ­mas tree plant­ed in the ground or in a pot will undoubt­ed­ly be a real jew­el in your cat-proof gar­den.

The fact is that most conifers con­tain tox­ic essen­tial oils. How­ev­er, poi­son­ing from ingest­ing conifer nee­dles is not that com­mon in cats. In most cas­es, prob­lems arise when cats con­sume dec­o­ra­tive orna­ments such as gar­lands and arti­fi­cial snow, for exam­ple.

If a Christ­mas tree stays in your gar­den 365 days a year, your cat will get used to it and have lit­tle or no inter­est in it.

Here are 5 vari­eties of dwarf conifers that can be grown in a large pot or con­tain­er on your patio:

Picea glau­ca J.W. Daisy’s White
Picea glau­ca Rain­bow’s End
Abies kore­ana Mol­li
Abies kore­ana Tordis
Abies lasio­carpa Com­pacta

All of these vari­eties grow very slow­ly, reach­ing only 1.5 to 2 meters in height after 10 to 15 years.