Consider This

If you’re going to buy a tree to decorate your home during the holidays -- say, a Scots Pine, Blue Spruce, White Fir or, for the non-traditionalists amongst us, a Christmas Palm or, better yet, a Bismark Palm -- please consider a live tree.
I don’t mean a chopped down tree versus an artificial one. No, I mean a green, wonderfully smelly thing with a root ball.

Why buy a tree to be planted later?

From ACTrees, Alliance for Community Trees :
* Trees give us oxygen, clean the air, and filter airborne pollutants.
* Trees conserve energy.  Just three strategically placed trees can decrease utility bills     by 50%.
* Urban trees in the U.S. remove 711,000 tons of air pollution annually, at a value of $3.8 billion.
* Trees and vegetation can raise property values up to 37%.
* Trees can reduce annual storm water runoff by 2% — 7%.
* The net cooling effect of a healthy tree is equivalent to 10 room-size air conditioners operating 20 hours a day.
* Trees clean the air by absorbing carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrous oxides and other pollutants.
* Trees shade cars and parking lots, reducing ozone emissions from vehicles.
* Trees filter airborne pollutants and reduce the conditions that cause asthma and other respiratory problems.
* Get trees. Get healthy.  Children and youth living in greener neighborhoods have lower body mass index.
* Trees reduce noise pollution by absorbing sounds.
* Urban trees in the U.S. store 700 million tons of carbon valued at $14 billion with an annual carbon sequestration rate of 22.8 million tons per year valued at $460 million annually.
* Trees provide habitat for hundreds of species.

This isn't hard.

Look, here are some instructions from, can ya believe it, Better Homes and Gardens:

Dig a hole before the ground freezes. Fill it temporarily with mulch.
1. If you want a Christmas tree that can live in your yard, buy a ball-and-burlap or container tree. You can keep it indoors for 7 to 10 days if you give it a cool spot near a window. Choose a manageable size; root balls are heavy. 

Choose a mild day to plant the tree.
2. In cold-winter climates, dig the planting hole in late fall, before the ground freezes. Make it twice as wide as the root ball will be. Then, fill the hole with mulch and protect the excavated soil with a tarp. When you buy the tree, place it in a garage or a shed for a few days to adjust to the warmer air. Display it in a watertight tub and place ice cubes on top of the root ball as needed to keep roots barely moist and cool. 

Protect your tree with a wind screen during its first winter.
3. After Christmas, acclimate the tree to cooler air by placing it back in the garage or shed for a few days. On a mild day, place the tree into the hole. Remove the burlap. Backfill with excavated soil and tamp gently. Water deeply, then mulch heavily. In harsh climates, evergreens are vulnerable to wind damage during their first winter. Protect your tree with a screen such as the one shown, which is made with old pallets and draperies.

Trees best suited for your area? If you’re in the Northeast -- a Fraser fir. In the Northwest -- a Douglas fir. Southwest -- an Arizona cypress. And, in the Southeast, a Virginia pine.

More tips and info from This Old House.  Go read the whole thing, this is just a snippet.

To get the best selection, head to the nursery around Thanksgiving—well ahead of the late-December rush. Most nurseries will tag your specimen and hold it for you until it's time to bring it home. To figure out how big a tree you can handle, measure the ceiling height in the room where you plan to put it. Factor in the size of the tree plus its root ball, as well as the height of an ornament on top and whether the container sits off the ground. Also, check the tree's projected growth to make sure it won't get too big for the space you're considering in your yard.

Most of us have room for another tree in our yards, even if just one. For those who don’t or who live in apartment buildings, talk to friends and family. Back when I lived in a small Brighton apartment, I had chums who lived in Exurbistan -- they were always happy to adopt my trees. I’ll bet you have friends like that too.

In LA? Contact Million Trees LA. Here are some places and contact info if you're in Arizona.
You can contact the Nature Conservancy -- ask them for ideas.
The National Wildlife Foundation has a program called Trees for Wildlife -- ask them for thoughts too.

Look, we’ve just got this one world. Give it a nice prezzy and plant a tree.