ARBOR DAY $12 donation and survey for 12 free trees including crabapples, hawthorne, and Dogwood trees

[The Barber]

I went ahead and made my donation.

Here's what I get in Kentucky.
Receive 2 Flowering Crabapples, 3 Eastern Redbuds, 2 Washington Hawthorns, 3 White Flowering Dogwoods, and 2 Crapemyrtles.

 

[Desert O'Piñon]

I think that is an excellent idea.

3 of my 5 are not very heat tolerant. I'm starting to wonder how much Arbor Day Foundation knows about trees and geographic climate.

Here's what I get in Kentucky.
Receive 2 Flowering Crabapples, 3 Eastern Redbuds, 2 Washington Hawthorns, 3 White Flowering Dogwoods, and 2 Crapemyrtles.

Funny that you, in your lush, green climate, will get the exact same trees as I would get here in the desert. Crepe myrtle grows everywhere around here, and I see a few redbuds (I think the city planted a special variety), but I don't know if I could successfully grow the other three, especially the dogwoods.

 

[Wulfskaar]

3 of my 5 are not very heat tolerant. I'm starting to wonder how much Arbor Day Foundation knows about trees and geographic climate.

Yeah, I was wondering that too. I was not surprised by the crape myrtles, because we have them all over out here. I was surprised they offered me the bald cypress. While my one BC seems to do great here, I don't know that I've seen any planted in the ground.

I kind of figured they would offer me oaks or something.

 

[Desert O'Piñon]

I kind of figured they would offer me oaks or something.

Funniest thing is that one of the survey questions was "Do you think the Piñon is a good choice for the state tree of New Mexico?" Also: "Do you think New Mexico has done a good job of forest preservation?"
So they know what kind of trees grow here, and that we do, in fact, have forest in our desert state.
I thought they might have offered Rocky Mountain Juniper, Piñon, Desert Willow, or something along those lines.
Nope.

 

[Kievnstavick]

It is interesting that I received a direct letter (and misplaced it soon after word) for a survey with an access code a month or two ago. I wasn't able to perform the survey online without the code.

After seeing this post, I tried again and I didn't need a code this time. I wonder if they just had a lack of participation beforehand so they opened it up to the public.

I donated and will be receiving my trees in the spring.

 

[Zac]

I did my survey and made my donation. I received it in the mail awhile back. The one through mail you get some extra extras if return in timely manner. Like a calendar and coffee. But it was a $20 donation.

 

[NMbonsai]

I did this about 5 years ago. Yes, it is a good cause, but don't get your hopes up about the trees you will receive. They send you a prechosen variety of plants: dogwood, crab apples, crape myrtles, as others have mentioned. There were no conifers in the mix at that time. Not much that would survive in my local environment. What they send are not even sticks in pots, just bare rooted twigs. I think I had one crab apple that survived a year and then died.

 

[Wulfskaar]

I got notice that my trees are on their way!

Have any of you guys had the shipment notification?

 

[SFDrake]

I got notice that my trees are on their way!

Have any of you guys had the shipment notification?

Yep got mine yesterday for my b cypress

 

[shohin_branches]

I tried this three years ago and I got a bag of soggy rotten saplings all marked with different color spray paint sprayed on the trees. They said they would replace them it took two years to get my replacements and I gave them to my mom. Not worth the money in my opinion, but your mileage may vary. You will also get stupid amounts of junk mail now.

Save your $25 to put towards wire or soil.

 

[BrightsideB]

Seems like it’s just a way they get people to donate. We obviously all support people who plant trees and educate on the topic. But if you want native seedlings go on a walk in nature and collect seeds.

I get a good deal donating to the American Conifer Society. A local nursery gives me something like 15% off. Plus several other perks. But above all I like the organization so I am a member for that reason.

 

[The Barber]

So...
...2026 Arbor Day contest?

If I get the trees from donating, 2 crabapple, 3 eastern redbud, 2 Washington hawthorn, 3 flowering dogwood, 2 crepe myrtle.
None of these are native, but there's plenty of myrtle around.

Seriously, I rather like the idea of using them as a contest.

 

[Desert O'Piñon]

Set it up. I think I should be able to afford $12. It does sound like an interesting challenge.

 

[Wulfskaar]

Mine arrived last week. 10 BC. Still waiting for them to wake up and show any sign of life.

 

[Desert O'Piñon]

Mine arrived last week. 10 BC. Still waiting for them to wake up and show any sign of life.

How hard do you think it will be to get them to thrive in your climate? I'm definitely not advanced enough to try BC here, as much as I love the species.
My limited experience in SoCal is that it is a lot like a coastal desert. Low rainfall, somewhat low humidity, and a lot of wind.

 

[DeepSouth]

My 5 eastern redbuds, 5 dogwoods, and 2 crepe myrtles came in a few days ago. The crepe myrtles are budding out, as well as a couple of the redbuds.

 

[Zac]

My 3 dogwood, 3 eastern redbud, 2 crabapple, 2 Hawthorne and bonus 2 crepe myrtle showed up Friday 2 and a half weeks earlier then they said. Seams they are better this time. Most of the whips are 12-18 inches long and have lots of roots. Some were only 7 inches long with limited roots but most were bigger.

 

[Wulfskaar]

How hard do you think it will be to get them to thrive in your climate? I'm definitely not advanced enough to try BC here, as much as I love the species.
My limited experience in SoCal is that it is a lot like a coastal desert. Low rainfall, somewhat low humidity, and a lot of wind.

I have a larger one I got in 2023 that's been doing great. All I do is keep the soil moist. On the hottest, driest days, I partially submerge the pot in water.

I've heard of others having no issues in coastal CA.

I'm not concerned at all.

Here's my thread for my BC's: https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/wulfskaars-bald-cypress.60870/

 

[Desert O'Piñon]

Here's my thread for my BC's: https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/wulfskaars-bald-cypress.60870/

Maybe one day I'll give them a go. But until I can get local natives to not just survive, but to thrive, I think it is best for me to wait to try any more challenging species. Nice thread, btw.

 

[NMbonsai]

@DesertO'Pinon , have you thought about trying the Montezuma Cypress? They are mostly native to Mexico, but there is a small population in NM, near Las Cruces, so they could be considered a native. The care is very similar to that for the Bald Cypress, to which they are closely related. I have one in a one gallon pot that I purchased online last fall. It had already dropped it's leaves when I got it so I put it in a bin against the house and covered the pot with pine needles. It is just now leafing out, so I moved it out into the sun with the other trees. This summer I will definitely follow the advice posted by @Wulfskaar to keep it in a pan of water.