For some families, the question after cremation is simple: choose a beautiful set of cremation urns for ashes, create a memorial space at home, and let time soften the sharp edges of the first weeks. For other families, the question carries a different kind of longing. They want something living. Something seasonal. Something that feels like a return rather than storage. That is where a living urn or memorial tree with ashes can feel deeply meaningful.
Memorial tree kits have become more visible for a practical reason: cremation is now the majority choice in the United States. According to the National Funeral Directors Association, the U.S. cremation rate was projected to reach 63.4% in 2025. The Cremation Association of North America reports a U.S. cremation rate of 61.8% in 2024. As more families choose cremation, it is natural that more families also look for eco friendly memorial options that feel personal and ongoing.
This guide focuses on one of the most widely known planting systems—The Living Urn—while also giving you the practical expectations that make the difference between a beautiful ritual and a frustrating experience. You will learn living urn how it works, what you actually do with the ashes, how to pick a tree for your climate, and care tips that give your memorial the best chance to thrive.
What a Living Urn Is (and What It Is Not)
A biodegradable urn tree system is not the same thing as a decorative urn for a shelf. It is more like a planting kit with a memorial purpose: a biodegradable inner container designed to hold cremated remains, plus additives and growing materials intended to support root development. The language online often includes phrases like “tree pod burial” or “tree urn,” but the practical reality is always the same: you are creating a controlled planting environment that helps a young tree survive in the presence of cremated remains.
If you are still weighing a planting memorial against other choices, it can help to browse in parallel. A living-urn style plan can coexist with a traditional home memorial. Many families keep some ashes in a full-size urn from cremation urns, share small portions in keepsake urns, or choose cremation necklaces so someone can carry a tiny symbolic portion close. If you want an overview of eco options beyond tree planting, Funeral.com’s guide to eco-friendly urns and biodegradable options is a helpful orientation.
Living Urn: How It Works in Real Life
The Living Urn describes its system as a BioUrn and planting process designed to grow a “memory tree” using cremated remains. Their basic method is straightforward: you place cremated remains in the BioUrn, add their proprietary additive (RootProtect), set the tree’s roots into the urn, add the included growth mix, and plant the whole system in the ground. You can read their overview directly on The Living Urn’s product page.
One detail that matters for families planning around seasons and travel is that The Living Urn states the system can be stored before planting and only biodegrades once planted. That means you can take your time, which is emotionally important in grief and practically important in climates where winter planting is risky. Their FAQ also explains that you can purchase the system online or through select funeral homes and providers, and that you can transfer the ashes yourself or ask the cremation provider to place the remains into the Living Urn for you. See The Living Urn FAQ.
If you want a Funeral.com primer that compares living urns with other biodegradable options (soil burial and water burial urns), start with Biodegradable Urns & Living Urns: How They Work, Costs, and What to Expect. It is designed to help families choose an approach that matches real life rather than just symbolism.
What You Actually Do With the Ashes
Families often assume a living-urn system requires using “all” the remains, and sometimes it can. But The Living Urn explicitly states you can use as much or as little of one set of ashes as you want, including planting only a portion when families split ashes among siblings or want to keep some for other memorials. Their guidance is spelled out here: How Much of the Ashes Should I Use?.
This flexibility is often what makes the plan feel emotionally sustainable. Some families choose to plant a tree with cremation ashes using a portion, and keep the remaining ashes in a traditional urn at home. If you are planning that kind of blended approach, it helps to think in categories. A full portion intended for home is usually kept in cremation urns for ashes. A smaller portion for travel or a second household often fits best in small cremation urns. A symbolic amount for multiple relatives is usually best handled through keepsake urns or cremation jewelry rather than “trying to divide evenly,” because many families find the emotional math harder than the physical math.
And if timing is not right—because the ground is frozen, your family is traveling, or you simply cannot face another project this month—there is nothing wrong with keeping ashes at home while you plan. Funeral.com’s guide Keeping Ashes at Home covers safe, respectful storage and the practical questions families usually face.
Why “Cremation Ashes and Soil” Can Be Tricky (and Why Kits Use Additives)
This is the part families deserve to hear plainly: cremated remains are not the same as garden ash from a fireplace, and they are not “plant food.” Cremated remains are primarily mineral, and in concentrated form they can create a harsh environment for young roots. The Living Urn states directly that cremated remains naturally have a very high pH level and sodium content, and that concentrated ashes in soil can make it difficult for many trees and plants to grow. You can see that explanation in their help resources about RootProtect and growing conditions, including What is RootProtect? and their help-center language about why the additive exists.
Even if you never measure soil pH yourself, it helps to understand the basic reason high pH matters. Most plants grow best within a moderate pH range where nutrients stay available to roots; when pH is too high or too low, nutrient availability changes in ways that can stress a plant. The University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources explains how pH affects nutrient availability in a practical gardening context here: Nutrient Availability (UC ANR).
This is why reputable memorial tree kit systems focus on buffering and spacing rather than simply telling families to pour ashes directly into a hole. A living-urn system is essentially an attempt to create a “gentle zone” for roots while still honoring the symbolism of planting with ashes. In a way, the kit is doing what an experienced gardener would do instinctively: protect the tree’s first months of root development.
Picking a Tree Type for Your Climate
The biggest practical driver of success is not the urn—it is whether the tree you choose is suited to your location. The Living Urn offers a menu of tree options based on your zip code, specifically to help families select a tree that is well-suited to their area. That zip-code guidance is described on their product page.
For your own cross-check, use the USDA’s plant hardiness system. The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map is the standard tool many nurseries use to estimate which perennial plants are likely to thrive in a given location based on cold tolerance. A hardiness zone is not the only factor—soil drainage, heat, wind, and deer pressure matter too—but it is a steady baseline when you are choosing between species.
If you want the highest odds of long-term success, “right tree, right place” usually means choosing something that is locally adapted, not just beautiful in a catalog photo. Native trees often handle your region’s temperature swings, pests, and rainfall patterns better than imports. If you are uncertain, a local nursery can be a better advisor than any national list because they know what survives in your county, not just your zone.
One more realistic tip: do not let grief force you into the wrong season. Many families feel pressure to plant immediately. But if you are planting a seedling and your ground is frozen or your region is in a heat wave, waiting is often the more loving choice. When families do plant “out of season,” the memorial can become stressful instead of comforting. If waiting is part of your plan, storing ashes safely at home in a traditional urn can hold the space until the season is right.
Where to Plant (and What to Verify First)
A memorial tree is usually planted on private property, at a relative’s home, or in a dedicated memorial garden. Some families are also interested in cemetery-based “memory forests” or designated planting areas. Wherever you plant, treat permission as a real part of funeral planning. If you do not own the land, get clear permission. If a cemetery is involved, ask about rules for plantings and whether cremated remains may be buried there in a plantable container.
And if you discover that planting with ashes is not feasible in your location, you still have eco-conscious alternatives. Families sometimes choose a biodegradable urn designed for soil burial without a tree, or they plan a water burial ceremony with a dissolving urn. If water is part of the plan, Funeral.com’s guide what happens during a water burial ceremony explains the practical flow of the day and the questions families usually forget to ask until the last minute.
Care Tips That Give Your Memorial the Best Chance to Thrive
After the planting ceremony, the memorial shifts from “symbolic” to “horticultural,” and that is where most disappointment happens. A young tree will not thrive on sentiment alone. It needs water, time, and a little patience—especially in its first season.
The simplest success strategy is to treat the memorial tree like any newly planted tree and follow a structured watering schedule. The University of Minnesota Extension offers a clear rule-of-thumb schedule: water daily for the first 1–2 weeks, then every 2–3 days for the next several weeks, then weekly until roots are established. See Watering Newly Planted Trees and Shrubs (UMN Extension).
Two other care basics matter more than families expect. First, plant in a location with appropriate sunlight for the species you chose. A sun-loving tree placed in a shaded yard will struggle no matter how carefully you water. Second, do not over-amend the soil. Many gardeners add rich compost to the planting hole thinking it helps, but some extension guidance warns that excessive amendments can create drainage and root-growth issues. If your kit includes a growth mix, follow those instructions and keep the broader soil environment stable.
If you are planting in a container first (because you are renting, relocating, or waiting for a permanent place), treat that container as a temporary nursery. Choose a large pot with good drainage, use a stable location that will not overheat in direct afternoon sun, and plan to transplant when weather is mild. In container setups, watering becomes even more important because pots dry out faster than ground soil.
What to Expect Emotionally (and What to Do if the Tree Struggles)
Families do not just plant a tree. They place hope into it. That is why it is important to say the difficult part kindly: even with a good kit, a tree can fail. Trees fail for ordinary reasons—drought, pests, transplant shock, a late frost, poor drainage—and none of those reasons mean your love was misplaced.
If you want a plan that protects you emotionally, consider keeping some of the remains in a primary urn regardless of whether you plant. That might be a traditional urn from cremation urns for ashes, a shared plan using keepsake urns, or a small wearable tribute through cremation jewelry or cremation necklaces. That way, the tree becomes a living chapter of the memorial, not the only container carrying the full emotional weight of “getting it right.”
And if you ultimately decide that planting with ashes is not the best fit, you still have meaningful options. Some families choose to plant a memorial tree without ashes and keep the remains at home. Others choose a biodegradable urn designed for soil burial, scattering, or water. Funeral.com’s biodegradable & eco-friendly urns collection is a starting point for families who want nature-forward options that align with different placement plans.
Cost, Value, and the Bigger Planning Picture
When families search “buy living urn,” they are often weighing more than a product. They are weighing the total cost of cremation, the cost of memorial decisions that come afterward, and the emotional value of each choice. If you are trying to plan realistically, Funeral.com’s guide to how much does cremation cost explains common fees and add-ons so you can budget without surprise.
A living-urn style memorial tree is rarely the “cheapest” option in the biodegradable category, but families do not choose it because it is cheap. They choose it because it creates a place. A tree becomes a destination you can return to—on birthdays, on quiet Sundays, on the kind of days when grief resurfaces unexpectedly. If that is the kind of memorial your family needs, cost becomes one part of a larger calculation: what will bring the most steady comfort over time?
A Gentle Bottom Line
A living urn can be a beautiful way to transform ashes into a living tribute, but it works best when you treat it like real tree planting rather than symbolic planting. Choose a tree that fits your climate. Plant in the right season. Follow a structured watering schedule. Understand why cremation ashes and soil can be challenging, and why kits include additives and growth mix to protect roots. And give yourself permission to build a blended plan—keeping part of the remains in cremation urns, small cremation urns, keepsake urns, or cremation jewelry—so the tree can be a source of comfort, not pressure.
If you want to read more about living urns in the context of other eco options, start with Funeral.com’s biodegradable and living urns guide, then compare with eco-friendly urn options so your plan fits both your values and your real life.
