I had found the program before hand but thought it best to wait until I actually owned the house. City will not only give you a free tree, they will research your soil and land, advise you on a few options AND plant it for you.
I actually applied twice for the tree (read: a little excited/impatient/don't want to miss this great opportunity). Once in the fall and again in the spring. I received a call from a woman in the spring letting me know that there is a 2 year waiting period for the tree and that I could just go ahead and plant my own if I wanted. I thought I was taken off the list.
I did go out a buy myself a Weeping Red Japanese Maple. I was limited to what size of tree I could get (trunk size). I planted this guy in front of my house and it seemed to do ok. I was very happy with my choice and plant. I do have experience here, have planted 250,000 trees in my life time, although never this type or size. Later on I discovered that this kind of tree prefers limited sun. (Lots of experience planting, no experience researching what tree vs soil vs sun light ... read: impetuous)
The front of my house is fully exposed from 10am till the sun sets. I saw it slowly get unhealthy. I am waiting to see if it survived the winter. I do not want to write it off yet, but it is weeping.
The city program will plant a tree between the sidewalk and road. The front of my house is/was treeless. There is a small garden, overtaken by clover (I discovered last year). That is all dug out now. And my Weeping Red Japanese Maple tree. It seems I will get my SHADE tree after all. And this shade tree may be exactly what my W.R.J.M tree needs!
Since my lot is large enough and there are no telephone wires above, the city arborist was very excited to offer me a huge shade tree. My choices:
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| Hackberry |
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| Katsura |
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| Gingko Saratoga |
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| Red Oak |
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| Swamp Wide Oak |
I am leaning towards Red Oak or Gingko ... I will let the size and growth speed determine which one I choose! I'M SO EXCITED!
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