THE LEAFLET

Thinking of adding a tree to your property without going through our free residential planting programs or competitive consultation services? Consider using our Tree Rebate to offset the cost! Never before has adding a tree been so cost-effective — especially if you consider long term benefits such as lowered heating and utility bills. 

Trees are eligible for either $50 or $100 rebates and today, we’re breaking down the species noted for their large canopy and significant environmental benefits that will qualify for a $100 rebate. All you need to do is fill out our Tree Rebate online form and submit a receipt within a year of purchase (additional fine print listed below).

Courtesy Southern Center for Urban Forestry Research & Information Southern Research Station, USDA Forest Service.

It is no secret that large, mature trees provide unparalleled benefits. Compared to a small-stature tree, a strategically located large canopy tree has a bigger impact on conserving energy, mitigating an urban heat island, and cooling a parking lot. They do more to reduce stormwater runoff; extend the life of streets; improve local air, soil and water quality; reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide; provide wildlife habitat; increase property values; enhance the attractiveness of a community; and promote human health and well being. And when we plant large canopy trees, the bottom-line benefits are multiplied. When it comes to trees, size really does matter. 

Oaks

One of the oaks’ claim to fame? They support over 500 different kinds of lepidoptera (moths and butterflies). Native oak trees support pollinators throughout the year in a number of ways, but especially by providing winter shelter and habitat. This genus of trees is not only prized by moths and butterflies, but they’ve long been prized by humans for their shade, beauty, and lumber.  Don’t take our word for it, the Washington Post said it best recently, “The sturdy, steadfast oak is the perfect tree for troubled times”. 

Thankfully our Tree Rebate program recognizes the importance of oaks of their significant canopy contributions and almost 20 different oak species are eligible for our $100 rebate. We’ve even spotlit a few underutilized workhorses:

1. Chestnut oak | Quercus montana
2. Black oak | Quercus velutina
3. Bur oak | Quercus macrocarpa
   The bur oak is an incredibly distinct, almost prehistoric-looking shade tree with dark, thick, ornate bark resembling wings adorning its trunk and branches. This tough tree tolerates poor air and soil conditions. Native Americans used its inner bark for varied medicinal purposes. A slow-growing shade tree best planted in a sunny location, the bur oak can be expected to reach about 40 feet in height in 50 years.
4. Chinkapin oak | Quercus muehlenbergii
5. Live oak | Quercus virginiana
6. Northern red oak | Quercus rubra
7. Nuttall oak | Quercus nuttallii
8. Pin oak | Quercus palustris
   Before modern fasteners, pin oak wood was used to join, or “pin” construction timbers together, and so it was named. This is a strong, upright shade tree commonly planted in DC. Pin oaks grow somewhat slowly and under most conditions will reach 40 feet in height in 40 to 50 years. This tree does best in full sun.
9. Scarlet oak | Quercus coccinea
10. Shingle oak | Quercus imbricaria
11. Shumard oak | Quercus shumardii
12. Southern red oak | Quercus falcata
13. Swamp white oak | Quercus bicolor
14. Overcup oak | Quercus lyrata
    With its straight trunk and round top, the overcup oak is a relatively unknown small to medium-sized shade tree that fits well into many small yards in Washington DC. The overcup gets its name from its shaggy, ornate acorn cap – and the acorns are highly valued by wildlife. This tree needs full sun, and will reach approximately 30 feet in height in 40 years.
15. Turkey oak | Quercus laevis
16. Water oak | Quercus nigra
17. White oak | Quercus bicolor
18. Willow oak | Quercus phellos

Other Species: 

What are you looking for in your trees? Shade? Visual interest from bark, blooms, or leaves? Water absorption? We have over 20 species available for the $100 Tree Rebate:

1. American beech | Fagus grandifolia
2. American elm | Ulmus americana
3. American linden | Tilia americana
4. American persimmon (wild form) | Diospyros virginiana
   A member of the ebony family, the persimmon is a graceful, slender and smallish shade tree with dark, distinctive furrowed bark and leaves that turn red to purple-red in fall. Female trees have greenish-white flowers that bloom in the spring and develop an edible fruit prized by wildlife. The tree has very strong wood used for golf club heads and billiard cues. Persimmons prefer full sun but will persist in partial shade. Somewhat slow growing, it can grow to 30 feet tall in approximately 40 years.
5. Sweetgum | Liquidambar styraciflua
6. Bald cypress | Taxodium distichum
7. Bigtooth aspen | Populus grandidentata
8. Bitternut hickory | Carya cordiformis
9. Black cherry | Prunus serotina
10. Black Tupelo | Nyssa sylvatica
11. Black locust | Robinia pseudoacacia
12. Black walnut | Juglans nigra
13. Catalpa | Catalpa speciosa
    A showy medium-sized shade tree often known as “cigar trees,” catalpas are typically planted for its springtime show of large, white, orchid-shaped flowers from which develop slender, long green seedpods that darken and drop in fall. At home in most soils and moisture regimes, the catalpa is a tough urban tree. Catalpas will thrive in full sun to partial shade, and may attain 40 feet in height in 30 to 50 years.
14. Cottonwood | Populus
15. Honey locust | Gleditsia triacanthos
16. Kentucky coffeetree | Gymnocladus dioicus
17. Mockernut hickory | Carya tomentosa
18. Pignut hickory | Carya glabra
19. Red maple | Acer rubrum
20. Red mulberry | Morus rubra
21. River birch | Betula nigra
22. Sassafras | Sassafras albidum
23. Shagbark hickory | Carya ovata
24. Silver maple | Acer saccharinum
25. Southern magnolia | Magnolia grandiflora
26. Sycamore/American planetree | Platanus occidentalis
27. Tuliptree | Liriodendron tulipifera
28. Yellowwood | Cladrastis lutea

Some fine print: Trees must be planted on private property — residential or commercial — located in DC. Please note there is a 25 tree limit for each property.

Article photo courtesy Aimee Custis via Flickr.