If you are thinking about adding a tree to your property, consider using our Tree Rebate to offset the cost by up to $100 per tree. Never before has adding a tree been so cost-effective — especially if you consider long term benefits such as lowered heating and utility bills.
How it Works
Just purchase and plant a tree on private property — residential or commercial — located in D.C. and submit a completed Tree Rebate form online or by mail. Be sure to include a receipt for each tree you list and have it to us within one year of purchase. Please note there is a 25 tree limit for each property.
$50 Rebates
Any tree (with exceptions listed in the Fine Print) that is expected to achieve both a height and width of at least 15 feet qualifies for a $50 rebate. Please note that we do not maintain a list of trees that qualify for a $50 rebate. It is purely the size parameter that determines whether a tree qualifies.
$100 Rebates
Species noted for their large canopy and significant environmental benefits that will qualify for a $100 rebate include:
Oaks (18 species)
Chestnut oak
Black oak
Bur oak
Chinkapin oak
Live oak
Northern red oak
Nuttall oak
Pin oak
Scarlet oak
Shingle oak
Shumard oak
Southern red oak
Swamp white oak
Overcup oak
Turkey oak
Water oak
White oak
Willow oak
Hickories (4 species)
Bitternut hickory
Mockernut hickory
Pignut hickory
Shagbark hickory
Other Species (24 species)
American beech
American elm
American linden
American persimmon (wild form)
Sweetgum
Bald cypress
Bigtooth aspen
Black cherry
Black Tupelo
Black locust
Black walnut
Catalpa
Cottonwood
Honey locust
Kentucky coffeetree
Red maple
Red mulberry
River birch
Sassafras
Silver maple
Southern magnolia
Sycamore/American planetree
Tuliptree
Yellowwood
Tree Rebate Form
Fine Print
While the vast majority of rebate requests are approved, your rebate request will be denied if you:
Request more than 25 tree rebates
The limit is 25 trees per property/applicant
Planted the tree in public space
Trees planted in the right-of-way — between the sidewalk and street — are considered a street tree. You can request a street tree at no cost through 311 online.
Went with a tree that will not reach 15’ tall and wide at maturity
Examples of previously denied requests included the following tree types.
Many varieties of crape myrtle such as ‘Tonto’ and ‘Comanche’; Japanese maple such as ‘Red Dragon’ and ‘Tamukeyama’, and Arborvitae such as ‘Emerald Green’, ‘Smaragd’ and ‘Green Splendor’.
Most dwarf fruit trees. Try to find a ‘standard’ sized fruit tree to get both shade and fruit. Ask the nurseryperson what the rootstock is for these trees. It is the rootstock, not the variety of fruiting wood, which determines the size for most fruit trees. Some semi-dwarf trees can reach 15’ tall and wide.
Various ‘weeping’ trees such as Weeping redbud and Weeping cherry, and ‘columnar’ or ‘fastigiated’ trees that may get tall enough but not wide enough such as ‘Sky Pencil Holly’ and ‘Lombardy Poplar’.
Selected an invasive tree such as Tree of Heaven or Bradford Pear
Selected a species of Ash
Ash are under imminent threat from the Emerald Ash Borer and are likely to incur high mortality in the coming years.
Failed to include a purchase receipt for each tree
Submitted the form too late
Requests must be received by Casey Trees within one year of the purchase date.
The Tree Rebate program is made possible with funding from the Department of Energy and Environment.