Georgia Arbor Day | UGA Extension Forsyth County

An eastern redbud tree in full bloom with pink flowers — An Eastern Redbud was the native flowering tree planted at the first City of Cumming Arbor Day Celebration in 2020.

Heather N. Kolich, ANR Agent, UGA Extension Forsyth County

Arbor Day is a national event of over 150 years’ standing. It originated in Nebraska in 1872, where pioneers arriving and settling in the treeless plains and prairies of Nebraska participated in an April event that resulted in the planting of over one million trees.

Officially, Arbor Day is still in April each year, but Georgia celebrates Arbor Day in February because late winter is an ideal time to plant trees in our climate. This year, Georgia Arbor Day is Friday, February 17, and the City of Cumming will hold its fourth annual Arbor Day Celebration at the Cumming City Center.

The annual Arbor Day Celebration event is one of the requirements for Cumming to maintain its status as a Tree City USA member. The celebrations are hosted at a different location each year and include a variety of activities. This year’s event will be especially interactive, with a community art project, a visit by Smokey the Bear, and wildfire prevention lessons provided by the Forsyth County Fire Department’s Wildfire Unit.

Of course, there must be trees at an Arbor Day celebration. Master Naturalist Volunteers from the Forsyth County Extension office will lead a participative tree planting demonstration to install a flowering tree specimen that will live on and beautify the venue. This year, the featured tree is a Blanchard magnolia, a large, evergreen cultivar of Magnolia grandiflora, donated by event sponsor Lanier Forsyth Rotary Club. Master Naturalist Extension Volunteers will also be giving out native white oak, tulip poplar, and dogwood tree seedlings, provided by Keep Forsyth County Beautiful and the Georgia Forestry Commission, along with species and planting information.

A dogwood tree branch with white blooms. — Flowering dogwoods are among the native trees seedlings Arbor Day participants can take home to plant.

Activities begin at 3:30 p.m. with the arrival of a food truck from Los Rios Mexican Restaurant and wrap up at 5:30 with the distribution of tree seedlings and small gifts to celebrate Smokey the Bear’s 75^th birthday.

Even if you can’t make it to the event, you can take a City of Cumming Arbor Day tree tour to see these flowering trees planted in previous years:

Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis), planted February 2020 at Cumming Aquatic Center, 201 Aquatic Circle. The Eastern Redbud tree is native to North America and produces abundant pink to purple flowers in early spring. It is a small, multi-stemmed, deciduous tree.
American Fringetree (Chionanthus virginicus), planted February 2021 at City of Cumming Recreation and Parks Department, 437 Pilgrim Mill Road. Also known as Grancy Greybeard and White Fringetree, this small, deciduous tree is native to North America and produces showy, fragrant, white flowers in spring.
Yoshino Cherry Tree (Prunus x yedoensis), planted February 2022 at Creative Enterprises, 410 Pilgrim Mill Road. This non-native tree can reach 40-50 feet in height and spread. It produces showy white to pink flowers in early spring.