Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Creating habitat X-Mas trees or PVC?

I got permission to sink a few structures into a 20 acre river-fed pond. The maximum depth of the pond is 20 feet with the average depth being 8 feet. I will be creating structure that rises about 4-5 feet off the bottom.
I just saw some of the old posts showing X-Mas trees lasting over 5 years and I am able to get at least a dozen of them. Or I can spend some money on some PVC that will last longer.
I want to arrange my "trees" in a bucket of concrete so that they point upwards from the base at a 45 degree angle. I figure 3 trees per bucket at opposite directions would make a nice area of structure when clustered in groups of at least three buckets.

Should I use X-Mas trees or fabricate PVC trees from a 2" trunk and 1/2" branches?

I plan on sinking most of this structure in 6-15 feet of water for good summer and winter fishing structure. And as far as I know, this pond stratifies at about 12-15 feet during the summer.
Any good suggestions?

Use some of both for variety. If you intend to fish for them all year then place some at all depths. Try the links in this thread from the archives :

http://www.pondboss.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=92463#Post92463

your less likely to get snags if you use pvc i have approx 50 of them in my pond outside osceola

Is there anything wrong with having the top of a X-mas tree sticking out of the water. I know the top that is exposed to air will weather away much faster but does it cause the underwater portion of the tree to fall apart any faster, I wouldn't think so but if so I can go back and trim the tops to where they are under the water.

IMO the top out does not effect the part underwater. Its staying under that matters.

I have a couple of Xmas trees that are sometimes submerged and other times almost out of the water. Don't sweat it.

PVC pros: lasts indefinitely, can be moved, and won't snag lures as readily [theoretically]
PVC Cons: more labor intensive to construct, materials aren't usually free

I know cedars last longer than typical xmas trees - [scotch, white pines or firs] but don't know how long...

Dave and Ewest and lots of others can attest to the lifespan of trees for sure. I prefer PVC as I fish with lots of light tackle and with my kids - much more forgiving of 1/32 oz jighead errantly cast!