A free tree, delivered to your home. This is awesome!
The city is offering to give you a free tree to plant on your Mountain View property. Here’s a link to the Arbor Day Free Tree Application. Select one of the following: Ruby Slippers Maple, Red Maple, Red Flowering Horse Chestnut, Western Redbud, Deep Purplish Flowering Desert Willow, Pink Dawn Chitalpa, Camphor Tree, Australian Willow, California Incense Cedar, Pink Saucer Magnolia, Mayten Tree, California Sycamore, or Shumard Red Oak.
These are the guidelines that the city wants us to know about:
All trees must be planted in the City of Mountain View on the property as stated on the application.
Trees are not meant for planting in containers or pots. They need to be installed in the ground where they can grow to their full potential to enhance the community’s canopy cover.
Trees are generally (15 gallon) in size. The containers they come in are about 18” tall and 15” wide. The trees will be approximately 6’ tall depending on type. Please research your tree and the location you intend to place it. You should place it where it can grow to its full size.
Once the tree is delivered, it is yours to keep. The trees do not come with a warranty since their care is out of our hands. Please be sure you want the tree as the City cannot pick it up because you no longer want it so please be sure you are able to plant and care for the tree.
All trees are subject to availability. Local wholesale nurseries are utilized for the purchase of plant material and efforts are made to choose plants that should be generally available. An effort is also made to include some Native trees in the list, some evergreen options and a new selection of trees each year.
Please note that some Native trees are not readily available or are not in the price point for our program. If you would like to make a suggestion for a tree for the following year staff will consider it. An alternate choice may be required if trees are not available when it is time to order the trees for delivery.
I looked up some of these trees and one that is the same size that the city is offering to give us would be well over $100 and having it delivered would be even more. This is another example of the outstanding city services that our community has.
Most of the trees that they are offering us are California natives. I like that they’ve given us a list of 13 to choose from and that the city approves of all of them. It makes picking one much easier than going to a store and trying to decide on my own.
I was with Leadership Mountain View last week when they planted some trees in Cuesta Park. The city landscaping staff was helping them and supervising with each tree, and giving directions about how big the hole should be and how much “potting soil” should be in it along with the root ball. Here’s a link to some helpful tree planting directions.
While I was looking around online at tree planting advice, I read that trees can increase your property value by 15-20%. Wow, just imagine what that would mean if you consider the price of things are here! Big thank you to the tree-loving City of Mountain View.
