Planting Roots in Leon County with Adopt-a-Tree Program

Planting Roots in Leon County with Adopt-a-Tree Program

Leon County is now offering three different native trees for you to adopt and plant at your home for free. The Adopt-a-Tree program is available for residents of Leon County who live outside the city limits.

After you have signed up, Leon County Public Works will assist homeowners with tree placement and installation between February and March 2018. In return, the County requests that the homeowner waters the tree three times a week for one year. The tree may be planted anywhere between a house and any publicly maintained road with public access.

This year, the program has expanded by offering three species:

• Fringetree is a small tree with fragrant, bright white flowers in the spring. The flowers emerge just as the dogwood flowers fade, hanging in long, spectacular panicles, which appear to cover the tree with cotton for two weeks.
• Southern Wax Myrtle is a rapidly growing, small, evergreen native tree that is capable of reaching a height of 25 feet with an equal spread but is usually seen in the 10 to 20-foot range. The Southern Wax Myrtle is often used as a large shrubbery screen or to provide shade.
• Swamp Chestnut Oak is a medium to large deciduous oak (part of the white oak group) with a tight, narrow, rounded crown. Acorns are typically not produced until the tree reaches 20-25 years old. Its gray bark has flaky ridges.

To fill out an application, simply visit www.LeonCountyFL.gov/AdoptATree or stop by the Leon County Public Works building at 2280 Miccosukee Rd. Applications will be accepted through January 31, 2018, but the tree inventory is limited. Sign up now!

For more information, contact Dean Richards, Leon County Public Works at (850) 606-1400 / RichardsD@LeonCountyFL.gov, or Mathieu Cavell, Leon County Community and Media Relations at (850) 606-5300 / CMR@LeonCountyFL.gov.