How to get Trees for Free!
Do you know how to get trees for free? If you live near one of the 3,676 Tree Cities across the US, you may be able to obtain some free bare root trees! Johnson City is one of these Tree Cities. Last year, we were able to get red maple, dogwood, redbud, and serviceberry trees. As part of the Arbor Day event, there was also an arborist giving away persimmons, beauty berries, and elderberries.
For weeks, I have been checking local announcements, searching for when the Johnson City Tree Giveaway would take place again. At about 11:00 PM on Friday night, I remembered to look again, and good thing I did because our Arbor Day was Saturday! The only announcement I could find for the tree giveaway was published 5 days before the event, so they don’t give much notice. If you are local to the Tri-Cities area, mark your calendar for the first Saturday in April so you don’t miss next year’s!
How to Find a Tree Giveaway Near You!
Are you interested in seeing if there is a Tree City near you? You can look on the Arbor Day Foundation’s website here. Then, use a search engine to see when that city holds their arbor day or tree giveaway. Chances are it is the same time each year!
Every year the tree selection is a little different. We only took redbud and dogwood this year as we weren’t interested in the other varieties. The arborist was back, and this year they gave us Allegheny chinkapin, a dwarf chestnut. I also asked the arborist about dropping wood chips. I am hoping they can give us a truckload (or several) to help us with our no-till gardening!
The bare root trees are currently heeled in a shady spot in our garden for a few days until I can determine where to plant them (our Tennessee Tree Day Trees and the apple trees James grafted are also heeled in here too). This helps protect the trees until they can be placed in their permanent location. Ideally, they will be planted before they break dormancy.
