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Open for orders 12/12/24!

We have 3,000 bare root trees to give away for 2025. Comprised of 14 native tree/shrub species, they will arrive to you at 1-3 ft tall and will need to be potted or planted RIGHT AWAY!

Tree Pick-Up Dates

March 11-16, 2025

Times will be announced closer to these dates

 

Adriana Hess Wetland Park

2917 Morrison Rd W

University Place, WA

Why are we giving away trees?

The City of Tacoma has a tree canopy of around 20%, the lowest in the entire Puget Sound region, and far less than other major US cities like New York (39%). This has an impact not just on birds and other wildlife, but on people too. Trees provide oxygen as well as absorb and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. They increase quality of life for people by providing shade, reducing urban temperatures as we experience the increased effects of climate change and studies have shown trees and nature improve mental health. 

 

We are happy to be partnering with the City of Tacoma to proactively plant 10,000 trees over the next four years to kick start a significant increase in tree canopy in disadvantaged areas within the city.

Why Are Native Trees So Important?

Native trees and shrubs help maintain a proper ecological balance and support a greater biodiversity than non-native trees. They grow more successfully because we know they can thrive within our soil types and climate. ​Native species help maintain soil nutrients, balance native insect populations, and help provide seeds and fruit that our birds rely on for food throughout the year. 

And they're just plain gorgeous in all 4 seasons!!!

What is a bare root tree? Go to planting and care instructions.

Trees available to order for 2025
(click or scroll to learn more)

Quaking Aspen
Pacific Dogwood
Garry Oak
Blue Elderberry
Red Stem Ceanothus

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Incense Cedar

  • Appearance: Large conifer tree, grows to 70-110 ft. Produces both male and female flower blooms. Male blooms are small, pale yellow, and release pollen clouds in late winter. Female flowers are larger than male flowers and develop small brown cones on the end of branches that look like a duck bill with up to 4 winged seeds per cone.

  • Growing Needs: Well drained, sandy or loamy soil, drought tolerant but adapts to both dry and slight wetness. Prefers full sun but can do partial shade, does not do well with wind. (According to WSU Clark County Extension, the Incense Cedar is native up to British Columbia. Does best in Cascade Mountains, lives 500-1000 years)

  • Attracts: Seeds attract brown creepers, woodpeckers, nuthatches, kinglets, squirrels. Blooms attract pollinators and leaves are fragrant.

  • Nesting and roosting tree for birds, host tree for caterpillars as well as butterfly and moth larvae.

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Western Hemlock

  • Appearance: Large evergreen tree that grows to 150-190 feet tall, recognized by its drooping top. Bloom period is March to May, cones mature in August. Cones fall in September and open in October.

  • Growing Needs: Tolerates shade or sun but grows faster in full sun. Soil can be dry to wet.

  • Attracts: Many birds as nesting sites, seeds attract crossbills, pine siskins, chickadees. Porcupines and Douglas squirrels eat the bark, deer and elk eat foliage and twigs.

  • Oldest documented tree is over 1,200 years old

  • Washington State tree

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Sitka Spruce

  • Appearance: Fast growing conifer up to 50-160 ft, lives up to 800 years. Produces seed cones instead of flowers, purplish brown oblong cones April to June. Mature tree has purplish bark.

  • Growing Needs: Prefers cool temperatures, full sun to partial shade in moist well-drained soil.

  • Attracts: Seeds attract nuthatches, grosbeaks, finches, chickadees, pine siskins, crossbills, sparrows. Insects in bark attract sapsuckers and woodpeckers.

  • Bald Eagles and other raptors use for roosting and nesting

  • Host for larva of moths and butterflies.

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Red Alder

  • Appearance: Large deciduous tree that grows to 50-80 feet tall. Flowers – forms catkins in spring before leafing out. Leaves curl under at the edge. Small cones less than 1 inch form and remain on the tree through winter. Produces wing nutlets September through December.

  • Growing Needs: Tolerates a variety of soils from moist to dry, clay to gravel, often found along stream beds.

  • Attracts: Seeds, buds and insects attract mallards, wigeons, grouse, bushtits, kinglets, vireos, warblers, chickadees, redpolls, siskins, and goldfinches. Buds, leaves and twigs attract elk, deer and porcupines, beavers and hares.

  • Used for nesting by warblers, bushtits and sparrows

  • Host to nitrogen fixing bacteria so this species of tree can be used to reclaim clear-cut and otherwise damaged bare ground.

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Peachleaf Willow

  • Appearance: Fast growing, deciduous tree often grows best along the banks of creeks and ponds. Grows up to 65ft tall. Blooms in April to June, small yellowish green catkins male 1-3”, female 1-4”, appears before leaf emerges. Fruits in June are ovoid red capsules with 15-20 greenish brown seeds with silky hairs at the base, dispersed by the wind.

  • Growing Needs: Requires moist soil, with moisture available year round. Will tolerate most soil types except clay. Thrives in full sun but will tolerate partial shade.

  • Attracts: Flowers attract bees, especially emerging bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. Seeds attract warblers, juncos, and sparrows among others. Leaves attract deer, elk, rabbits, hosts the Morning Cloak and Viceroy butterfly larva, as well as moth larvae.

  • Nesting habitat for bald eagles

  • This is a Keystone plant as a host to 397 species of insects and caterpillars.

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Quaking Aspen

  • Appearance: Medium deciduous tree that grows to 50 feet tall with shallow roots. Typically forms in clumps of trees. Bloom and flowers, catkins appear April to May before the leaves. Flowers on catkins produce cones that split open to release seeds attached to a white silky hair that spread via wind. Fall color, leaves turn bright yellow to red after first frost.

  • Growing Needs: Can grow in a variety of soil conditions, including rocky soil, clay soil, rich soil, or nutrient deficient sandy soil, but grows best in rich, porous soils. Needs to be in the sun or slight shade, does not tolerate full shade.

  • Attracts: ruffed grouse, chickadees, bluebirds, sapsuckers, downy woodpeckers, beavers, deer

  • Host to 287 species of butterflies, moths and skippers which are essential resources for birds.

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Pacific Dogwood

  • Appearance: Medium height deciduous tree, grows to 50 feet. Blooms April to June, insignificant flowers, but has showy white bracts (flowers) attract bees and butterflies. Berries are bright red in summer

  • Growing Needs: Well drained acidic dry soil.

  • Flowers Attract: bees and butterflies.

  • Berries Attract: Northern Flickers, Hermit Thrush, Cedar Waxwings, Vireos, Purple Finches and Sapsuckers.

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Garry Oak

  • Appearance: Deciduous and slow growing, up to 80-100 ft, lives 250-500 years. Blooms May to June, male flowers tiny yellow catkins that grow on a slender stalk, female flowers are small pinkish red structure at tip of twig. Rich environment for insects due to lichen and mosses in the tree. Seeds are acorns that fall August to November.

  • Growing Needs: Tolerates many well drained soils, prefers sun and needs protection from deer grazing 

  • Attracts: Flowers attract bees, butterflies, bushtits, hummingbirds, warblers. Acorns attract the threatened Western gray squirrel, woodpeckers, jays, ducks, grouse, crows and thrushes. Insects attract warblers and bluebirds.

  • Only 3% of original habitat of native Garry Oaks remains.

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Blue Elderberry

  • Appearance: Deciduous bush, grows to 25 feet. Blooms April to June, with very fragrant white flowers on a stalk and small blue berries in late summer.

  • Growing Needs: Does well in moist soil and full sun.

  • Flowers Attract: bees, hummingbirds and butterflies

  • Berries Attract: band-tailed pigeons, cedar waxwings, robins, northern flickers, jays and sparrows

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Red Stem Ceanothus

  • Appearance: Small deciduous tree, grows to 3-10 ft. Flowers are fragrant, small, white clusters at end of side branches that comes in summer May to July. Fruit is 3 chambered explosive capsules each with a shiny brown seed June to August. Green stems turn purplish red.

  • Growing Needs: Dry open sites, well-drained soil, full sun to part shade, fixes nitrogen in poor soils, drought tolerant.

  • Flowers Attract: Pollinators like bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, insects.

  • Seeds Attract: bushtits, finches, elk, rabbits, deer.

  • Use leaves to make tea, green dye, bark poultices for burns and wounds, flowers for body soap.

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Red-Flowering Currant

  • Appearance: Deciduous shrub, grows 6-10 feet tall with green leaves. Blooms in early spring with beautiful bright red/pink tubular flowers and produces red/blue late summer berries.

  • Growing Needs: Rocky, well-drained soil

  • Host plant: moth larvae (leaves)

  • Flowers Attract: Hummingbirds and butterflies

  • Berries Attract: Robins, woodpeckers, jays, sparrows, bushtits, tanagers, and cedar waxwings. Fruit also eaten by coyotes, foxes, mountain beavers, raccoons, skunks, squirrels and chipmunks.

  • Twigs and foliage browsed by deer and elk.

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Osoberry/Indian Plum

  • Appearance: Small deciduous, grows to 6-18 feet. Blooms in late February with delicate white bell-shaped flowers. Dark purple plum shaped berries in summer.

  • Growing Needs: needs well-drained moist soil, and does well in partial shade.

  • Flowers Attract: hummingbirds, mason bees, moths, butterflies

  • Seeds Attract: most Pacific Northwest birds!

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Mock Orange (Lewis)

  • Appearance: Deciduous shrub that grows 6-12 feet tall. Blooms with snow white, very fragrant flowers in late spring/early summer. Dry seed capsules disperse seeds starting in September.

  • Growing Needs: sun to part shade, well-drained moist to dry soil

  • Flowers Attract: Butterflies including western tiger swallowtail and common wood nymph

  • Seeds Attract: Grosbeaks, quail, juncos, thrushes, finches, woodpeckers, chickadees, wrens, and squirrels

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Red Osier Dogwood

  • Appearance: Deciduous multi-stemmed shrub that grows 6-8 feet tall with bright red stems. Small white flowers appear in late spring followed by white berries in late summer.

  • Growing Needs: Moist soil, full sun to partial shade.

  • Flowers Attract: Pollinators and butterflies

  • Berries Attract: Robins, quail, pigeons, flickers, flycatchers, vireos, warblers, kingbirds, grouse, wood ducks, bear, foxes, skunks and chipmunks.

  • Wood is eaten by porcupines and twigs browsed by deer, elk and rabbits.

Bare Root Tree Planting Care and Instructions (PDF)

(used by permission from the Arbor Day Foundation)

Tahoma Bird Alliance

Mailing: PO Box 64068  •  University Place, WA 98464-0068

Location: 2917 Morrison Road West •  University Place, WA 98466

253-565-9278  •  info@tahomabirdalliance.org

© 2024 by Tahoma Bird Alliance

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