Tree Giveaway

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Overview

Lincoln neighborhoods and communities across the U.S. are experiencing a mass tree decline with the removal of ash trees due to the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB). Lincoln Parks and Recreation Department analyzed available data and found there are large low to moderate income residential areas in Northeast and Northwest Lincoln that have been hit hard by EAB. The focus of this event is getting trees into the hands of owner-occupied homes where households may not have the disposable income to purchase a private tree.

To help get trees planted in these high need neighborhoods, Lincoln Parks and Recreation has selected Air Park West Community Center and Arnold Heights Pool as the site of the 2023 Tree Distribution on Saturday, October 14 at 9 am. Trees will be available for pick up in a drive-thru style event. Trees have been selected because of their suitability to the local climate and information on selecting, planting and maintaining your tree will be available. 

Trick or Tree 2023 is funded by grants made available through the Arbor Day Foundation and Lincoln Parks Foundation.  

Read through the following pages for information about available trees, the give-away event, and planting and caring for your tree. 

     lpfLogo.png     LPR Logo color             Arbor Day Foundation Logo

 

 

 

 

  

Available Trees

The trees available for the giveaway are locally grown and well suited for the Eastern Nebraska climate. This year there is a good mix of large and small deciduous trees and evergreens. 

Evergreen:

White Pine – (easy to grow, tolerates part shade to full sun)

White Spruce – (easy to grow, tolerates part shade to full sun)

Big Shade and Flowering:

Catalpa – (flowers, is drought resistant, grows fast, and provides good shade)

Wet Spots:

Baldcypress –(good in wet spots but also pretty drought tolerant - we have lots in parks, but not as street trees)

Dry Spots:

Swamp White Oak – (good drought resistance, durable, and long-lived)

Small and Flowering:

Canada Red Chokecherry – (cool color changing leaves, flowers and provide fruit for birds)

Autumn Brilliance Serviceberry – (fall color, flowers and provide fruit for birds)

Shadblow Serviceberry  – (fall color, flowers and provide fruit for birds)

Learn more about each tree

Autumn Brilliance Serviceberry

Autumn Brilliance Serviceberry

Scientific Name:  Amelanchier × grandiflora

Autumn Brilliance serviceberry trees are smaller and offers beauty across the seasons. In the spring, fragrant white flowers bloom and blueberry-like fruits emerge in the summer. The leaves turn bright orange before a brilliant red in the fall. Edible berries are popular with local wildlife and can be used in jams, jellies and pies.

AUTUMN - Leaves turn bright red

  • Fully grown height 15' - 25' and 15' - 25' width
  • Full Sun, Partial Sun/Shade, 4-6 hours
  • Loamy, moist, well drained soil
  • Fast growth rate
  • The fruit this tree produces is loved by birds. Yields 3-8" edible fruit, which attracts birds and can be used in jams and jellies

A brightly red colored tree in a neighborhood surrounded by other trees. Small red berries in the middle of many bright green leaves White flowers sticking off of a branch, in the middle of the flower is a green center with small stems for pollen.

Images from Great Plains Nursery

Baldcypress

Scientific Name:  Taxodium distichum

The baldcypress is the classic tree of southern swamps, but also does well in yards or along streets. The origin of the common name is lost to time and there are only guesses as to why they’re referred to as bald. Their cones are tough and green in autumn but become more woody as the season progresses.

AUTUMN - Provides majestic orange-red fall color before falling off tree.

  • Makes a great urban tree
  • Is classified as a deciduous conifer, meaning it will lose its needles in the fall
  • Shape:  Pyramidal
  • Growth Speed:  Moderate
  • Fully grown height  50' - 70' and width 20-30'
  • Sun:  Full Sun, 8-12 hours
  • Moist, well drained soil
  • Baldcypress form characteristic groves in swampy areas that support complex and variable ecosystems and are used by many wildlife species.

A cypress tree on the side of a street. It is a tall green needled tree.Round, slightly spiky balls on the branch of a needled tree.Bright orange needles on a cypress tree in the fall.

Images from Great Plains Nursery

Canada Red Chokecherry

Scientific Name Prunus virginiana 'Canada Red'

This native American chokecherry variety boasts green leaves in the spring that turn into a stunning dark purple in the mid-summer. The Canada Red Select is also called the Canada Red Chokecherry. The species is colorful and hardy, boasting green leaves in the spring that turn dark purple in the summer. The small reddish-purple fruits are considered poisonous when raw, but can be carefully processed into jams and preserves.

AUTUMN - Leaves turn yellow

  • Produces small, reddish-purple edible fruits
  • Displays red-brown bark and hanging clusters of white flowers that are each 3-5" in length
  • Is hardy and can tolerate many harsh conditions
  • Oval shape with moderate growth rate
  • Mature growth 20' - 25' tall and 15' - 20' wide
  • Sun Preference Full Sun, Partial Sun, 6-12 hours
  • Soil Preference Moist, Well Drained

A small tree with multiple smaller trunks forming one, with light green leaves.Small purple-red berries on a branch with bright green leaves on it as wellamidst green leaves is small white flowers

Images from Great Plains Nursery

Northern Catalpa

Scientific name:  catalpa speciosa

This is a tree that demands your attention, with showy white flowers, giant heart-shaped leaves, dangling bean-like seed pods, and twisting trunk and branches. With all of these unique features, the Northern Catalpa is popular with kids as well. Can be expected to begin flowering about 7 years after planting. Should not be planted where fruit and flowers can drop on sidewalks, as they are slippery right after they fall.

AUTUMN - Leaves turn yellow or brown

  • Medium to large deciduous tree with showy flowers
  • Grows 40-70 feet tall and 20-50 feet wide
  • Moderate to fast growth rate
  • Full sun to part shade, 4-6 hours
  • Prefers moist conditions, well drained soil

 

TREES-CATALPA.jpgTREES-CATALPA-leaf.jpgTREES-CATALPA-fruit.jpg

Images from University of Nebraska - Lincoln, Regional & Community Forestry

Shadblow Serviceberry

Shadblow Serviceberry

Scientific Name:  Amelanchier canadensis

Shadblow serviceberry is an early-flowering small deciduous tree that features beautiful clusters of slightly fragrant, white flowers. After flowering, green berries emerge which mature to a dark purplish-black in early summer. This tree has 3 seasons of interest, making it a desirable specimen tree in pollinator gardens or as an accent tree. Edible berries are popular with local wildlife and can be used in jams, jellies and pies.

AUTUMN - Leaves turn bright red

  • Fully grown height 25' and 25' width
  • Partial Sun/Shade, 4-6 hours
  • Loamy, moist, well drained soil
  • Moderate growth rate
  • The fruit this tree produces is loved by birds. Yields 3-8" edible fruit, which attracts birds and can be used in jams and jellies

TREES-ShadblowServiceberry.jpg TREES-shadblow-fruit.jpg

Images from Great Plains Nursery

Swamp White Oak

Scientific Name Quercus bicolor

The swamp white oak species is as the name suggests well-adapted to low-lying areas with poor drainage like a swamp. It was introduced in 1800 and can live more than 300 years making it a great tree for generations after you. It’s leaves are dark green that have a leathery texture.

AUTUMN - Leaves turn yellow, bronze and red-purple

As the name suggests, this oak is found growing wild in low-lying and swampy areas — often moist bottomlands or river banks. But it grows just as well in an urban or suburban setting, with tolerance to compacted soil and (perhaps surprisingly) drought. The swamp white oak is a great choice for a shade or street tree, with the ability to grow at a moderate pace and live more than 300 years. It’s the kind of tree you plant for not only your enjoyment but for the benefit of generations to come.

  • Mature Height 50'-60' and width 50'-60'
  • Growth Speed Medium
  • Shape Rounded
  • Sun Preference Full Sun, 8-12 hours
  • Soil Preference Acidic, Drought, Wet
  • Wildlife Value:  This oak species attracts a variety of birds.
  • 1" acorns

A large oak tree with wide spread branches Leaves with jagged edges

Images from Great Plains Nursery

White Pine

White Pine

 Pinus strobus

White pines are widely used as Christmas trees, featuring long, slender, blue-green needles in bundles of 5 that are soft and flexible. The white pine is the only five-needle pine native to eastern North America and reaches maturity at 150-200 years. These trees produce slightly curved, elongated brown cones 3-8 inches in length with smooth scales.

AUTUMN - Keeps needles year round

  • Long-lived needled evergreen
  • Grows 50-80 feet tall and 20-40 feet wide. 
  • Moderate growth rate
  • Full sun (8-12 hours)
  • Moist or well-drained soil
  • Elongated cones, 3-8" length

TREE-white-pine-form.jpg  TREE-white-pine-needle.jpg  TREE-white-pine-fruit.jpg

Images from University of Nebraska - Lincoln, Regional & Community Forestry

White Spruce

Scientific Name Picea glauca

The species name glauca is in reference to the gray-green look of the foliage. The tree is popular for bonsai and Christmas trees. In 1535, Jacques Cartier sailed up the St. Lawrence River and saw white spruces for the first time and calimed them to be “as beautiful…as one could wish for.” The trees, he said, were “the finest trees in the world.”

AUTUMN - Keeps needles year round

  • Provides beautiful year-round color
  • Columnar shape:  grows narrow, straight, and tall
  • Tolerates most soil conditions
  • Can withstand wind, heat, cold, drought, crowding, and some shade 
  • Fully grown height 40' - 60' and up to 10' - 20' wide
  • Wildlife Value:  Besides providing nesting sites and shelter, white spruces provide food for many kinds of wildlife. Crossbills, evening grosbeaks and red-breasted nuthatches prefer the seeds. The foliage is eaten by grouse, rabbits and deer. Red squirrels cut open cones to eat the seeds, and they feast upon young, tender spruce shoots.

A smallish needled tree. cones surrounded by needles on the branch of a tree The trunk of a spruce tree showing a scaled type of bark with some needles and cones.

Images from Arbor Day

 

How to Get a Tree

The tree giveaway at Air Park West Park will begin promptly at 9 a.m., but we recommend arriving early to ensure tree availability. The first 300 cars will receive a tree. Please plan to have a space to hold a 6-foot-tall tree in a 3 gallon container. Trees and containers can be laid gently on their side during transport. This is strictly a drive-thru style event and asks patrons to not leave their vehicle. Staff and volunteers will load trees into your vehicle.

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Step 1. Show up!

Air Park West Park is located off NW 48th Street and Mathis Street in northwest Lincoln.

Step 2. Get in line!

Follow signs for one way traffic and directions from volunteers in yellow vests. Tree giveaway starts at 9 a.m. and lasts until trees are gone.

Step 3. Pick your tree!

Tree Information sheet! Volunteers will hand out an information sheet on trees.

Step 4. Stay in your vehicle!

Stay in line, and follow the cars to get a tree in the large parking lot near the ball fields. Volunteers will load them into your car. 

Step 5. Call before you dig!

Before planting your tree, you must file a locate request to ensure that your tree is planted in a safe spot (free of any buried utilities) on your private property. To file a location request online visit ne1call.com or dial 811.

www.ne1call.com  811

Step 6. Plant your tree!

Your tree is ready to plant after you receive a cleared ticket from 811.  Trees should be planted within a few days after receiving your 811 clear ticket. Follow the guide for best tree location that you received in your swag bag. Trees can be planted in the Fall until mid-November before the soil freezes. Please monitor weather and soil forecast to ensure survival of new tree.

Step 7. Care for your Tree!

Water your tree daily and monitor weather.

Tree Planting and Care Information