A significant proportion of our area’s urban tree canopy depends upon the efforts of thousands of residents to care for mature trees and plant new ones on privately held properties from single family homes, to townhouses, to apartment complex shared greenspaces. Extension Master Gardener Amy Crumpton discusses best practices for caring for trees. Amy describes how to assess your site’s conditions for new tree plantings and how to select from the many native tree species that thrive in our area. She also describes the Small Trees Make Big Canopies program and how to transplant found tree seedlings.
Video of Presentation
Recommended Online Resources
Native Trees for Northern Virginia: Selecting Trees
- Arlington County Urban Forestry Office – Recommended Trees
- City of Alexandria – Arborist Tree Planting Program
- City of Falls Church – Recommended Native Flood Plain Species
- Common Native Trees of Virginia. Virginia Department of Forestry.
- Plant NOVA Trees
- Tried & True Native Plant Selections for the Mid-Atlantic: Trees. Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia.
- “Utility Friendly Trees”. Trees Virginia.
- Doug Tallamy’s Keystone Plants. [List of Best Plant Genera for Supporting Moths and Butterflies]. Pollinator Pathway.
Native Tree Programs in Northern Virginia: Obtaining Trees
- Arlington County Parks & Recreation – Free Tree Program (Arlington residents only)
- EcoAction Arlington and Arlington County Urban Forestry Commission – Tree Canopy Fund
- City of Alexandria Native Plant Sale
- City of Falls Church – Neighborhood Tree Program
- Earth Sangha Wild Plant Nursery
- Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District – Native Seedling Sale
- Small Trees Make Big Canopies Program
Tree Planting
- “How to Plant,” Casey Trees.
- “Tree Size Matters: Why Planting Bigger Is Not Better,” Choose Natives.
- “Planting Trees,” Virginia Department of Forestry.
Tree Care
- “A Guide to Successful Pruning: Stop Topping Trees!” VA Tech Publication 430-458.
- “Hiring an Arborist to Care for Your Landscape Trees,” VA Tech ANR-131.
- “‘Leave’ Them Alone: Lawn Leaf Management,” VA Tech Publication 430-521.
- “Mature Trees Are Valuable Trees,” Tree Stewards (Arlington & Alexandria)
- “Mulching Trees and Shrubs,” University of Maryland Extension.
- “Oak Decline in Northern Virginia: Fact Sheet”
- “Pruning Trees & Shrubs,” Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia.
- “Take Ivy Off Trees,” Tree Stewards.
- “Tree Basics,” Fairfax County Tree Commission.
- “Tree Care: Managing Pests and Diseases,” Kirsten Conrad, VCE Extension Agent.
- “Trees for Problem Landscape Sites: Air Pollution,” VA Tech Publication 430-022.
- “Tree Owner’s Manual – National Edition”. U. S. Forest Service.