Planting tips for April 23 fruit tree giveway & end-of-season sale

If you come to our April 23 Fruit Tree Giveaway and End-of-Season Sale of overstock street and yard trees, you will probably experience the fun and satisfaction of planting a tree yourself. The giveaway and sale begin at 10 a.m. at Friends of Trees, 3117 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.

Garden designer and consultant Kate Bryant provides helpful information on Portland Monthly’s “Plantwise” blog to guide you in the proper planting techniques, whether you’re planting a bare-root fruit tree or a larger containerized or balled and burlapped tree. She also explains the reasons trees arrive at our homes in such a variety of ways, and the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Friends of Trees offers basic tree planting tips on our web site, too, as well as guidance for the best placement of yard trees to maximize benefits (such as lower utility costs) and to avoid interference with existing structures.

Though you don’t need a permit from the city to plant a tree in your yard, you do need to find out where your underground utilities are located. Your utility companies can provide this service. You’ll also want to plant a species that has room to grow and ideally place it where it will provide shade in summer and a windbreak in winter to lower your utility bills. Planting on the west side of the house, where afternoon sun and heat are concentrated during summer months, is best for maximizing utility savings.

To add a street tree to your planting strip in Portland, you’ll need a permit from the city. As part of the permitting process, you’ll be given permission to plant a certain number of species based on the size of your planting strip and the location of underground and overhead utilities.

If you live in Vancouver, WA, this list of approved street trees can help as you determine which species to plant, but you should call Vancouver Urban Forestry at 360-487-8328 for more guidance.

Figuring out what kind of tree and where to plant it in your planting strip, and going through the process of obtaining a permit, is one reason that planting with Friends of Trees during the fall and winter planting season is ideal. We guide you through the planting process from start to finish.

For $35 to $75, we provide a selection of city-approved trees specifically suited to your planting strip, tree delivery, assistance with permitting and utility locates, hole digging, help planting the tree on planting day, stakes, mulch, and summer maintenance checks to make sure your tree is doing well after it’s been planted. You’ll even get a potluck lunch with your neighbors after your Saturday morning planting!

Unfortunately, Friends of Trees can’t take orders or make reservations in advance for our annual Fruit Tree Giveaway and End-of-Season Sale of overstock trees. So come out on April 23 and find the tree that works for you and your home. Each household can select up to three free fruit trees, and a variety of overstock trees will be available until they’re sold.

–TR