Deadline Approaching to Reserve Trees for Tennessee Tree Day

The deadline to order bare-root tree seedlings in support of Tennessee Tree Day is Sunday, Feb. 26. The Knox County Stormwater Division’s pickup site will be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at UT Botanical Gardens (2518 Jacob Drive) on Saturday, March 18.

Orders can be made online and a donation starting $1.99 each is requested. Tree seedlings may range in size from 1- to 4-feet depending on the species. Available trees include Elderberry, Cherrybark Oak, White Oak, Tulip Poplar, and Virginia Pine. Flowering Dogwood, Indigo Bush, Pecan, Eastern Redbud and Persimmon have sold out.

If the Knox County pickup site doesn’t work for you, there are a number of other Knox County pick-up sites for which orders can be placed.

Tennessee Tree Day, celebrated on March 18, is the largest community tree-planting project of its kind and designed to help maintain a healthy tree canopy across the state. The goal this year is to plant 95,000 trees. Anyone can participate.

Please note, cash donations cannot be accepted at the pick-up site so trees must be reserved and paid for in advance online. Only trees ordered by the February deadline will be available for pick up on the 18th.

In the event of extreme weather, trees will be available for pick up on Saturday, March 25 at the same time and place.

Knox County has participated in Tennessee Tree Day for the past eight years.