Free trees for Earth Day...what are your thoughts?

Anyway, I'm glad I posted this since it seems many people were not aware of the Lowe's event. I get their emails (a great way to get their coupons, they don't really mail out those project starter cards any longer) by subscribing to their newsletter.

Enjoy your trees everyone :)
 
A year or two after I moved to Illinois (age 7) they had a project to give every schoolchild a redbud tree. These were totally bare root and maybe a foot long, the most un-promising looking bits of vegetation you can imagine, but everybody took them home in great glee and many yards were dug up with an energy that amazed our parents. And ya know what? Now 50 years later there are big (well, as big as redbuds get which isn't very) old redbuds all over most towns and much of the countryside, and they're beautiful. This was a Gud Project. :)

now of course as a curmudgeonly old tech geek I mostly worry that people will plant these without consulting their local utility companies and in a few years roots are going to be infesting underground wires, water lines, sewer pipes, gas and communications cables. O well. This too will be a lesson. :)
 
Yeah, they are probably thinking more people will be off work on the weekend, I reckon...

Projects like that are great :) As long as people think about what they're doing, I am fine with it. Hopefully the trees will be native ones and appropriate for the area. Redbuds are one of the better ones to plant!
 
I want my, I want my, I want my free Tree :)
 
Couple comments about trees...

1.)If it's free, it's free. If it gets too big, you cut it down. It'ss not a real guilty feeling to cut down a tree. I received a spice bush for earth day, which I'm going to plant. We also have another unidentified seedling growing in our yard from an earth day tree a few years ago.
2.)Leland cypruses aren't bad trees, pretty much everyone in my neighborhood has one and the only time that one fell was during a hurricane (the worst one MD has had within 10 years) and it only broke a part of their fence. My neighbor's lelands are at least 50 ft high, but they're on the edge of the yard. Ours are only a couple years old, and vary from 6-12 feet.
3.)When my neighborhood was being build a couple years ago, a company donated several Bradford pair trees to the builders. These got planted pretty much everywhere. They grow quick and look nice, but if the wind hits it at a good angle, it'll land on your house. These fall apart all the time.
 
In this area, Leyland cypress trees are prone to the same leaf spot disease that has basically ruined red tip photinia, caused by a fungus that is difficult to control. Fast growing trees (what many people want for quick shade) are often not the best choice, quick growth usually means weak wood, although not always.
 
Dern... I can't believe I missed this. I'm always up for a free (non-invasive) tree. And if it happens to be a native species, the better. But then, I have 2+ acres and trees are always welcome. I wish I had even more land to plant trees and native plants. Too much land is developed. Where the heck are all the animals supposed to live?
 
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