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, after pioneers began settling in the treeless plains and prairies. The settlers needed trees for lumber and fence posts, windbreaks and shade, and for food products, like fruits and nuts. In April 1872, people from several communities participated in a tree-planting event that resulted in the planting of over one million trees.
We don’t have treeless plains and prairies in North Georgia, but we do have development that results in the loss of forest lands and replaces native tree species with non-native trees and shrubs. The Nebraska pioneers had a mission to transform the prairies, but we now know that ecosystem health is tied to native biodiversity. Planting a native tree in our own landscape helps restore biodiversity that was lost to development. When we, as a community, plant native trees and shrubs, we bring back plants that provide food, shelter, and habitat for the songbirds, pollinators, and wildlife that are important components of ecosystem functioning.
National Arbor Day is still in April each year, but Georgia celebrates Arbor Day in February, a better time for planting woody plants in our region. Spring-planted trees and shrubs can suffer in Georgia from heat and drought stress and from the energy demands of growing flowers and leaves with an underdeveloped root system. Planting trees in the fall or late winter allows the root system to get established in its new environment and start growing before it must divert energy to blooms and buds.
This year, Georgia Arbor Day is Friday, February 21, and the City of Cumming will hold its sixth annual Arbor Day Celebration from 4-5:30 at the Cumming City Center. Arbor Day Celebration partners include Keep Forsyth County Beautiful, UGA Extension Forsyth County, and the Georgia Forestry Commission.
As part of the celebration, Forsyth County Extension staff and volunteers will demonstrate tree seedling care and proper tree planting while installing a native Pin Oak (Quercus palustris) near the Tin Cup Airstream. Pin oaks are tolerant of urban environments. This oak, sponsored by Hobbs Landscape Services, will provide shade and serve as a host tree for Imperial moths and hairstreak and duskywing butterflies. Master Naturalist Extension Volunteers will also be giving out native white oak tree seedlings, provided by Keep Forsyth County Beautiful and the Georgia Forestry Commission, along with planting and care information.
Site selection is the first step in tree planting success. To get ready for your Arbor Day white oak seedling, wander around your yard and identify a full-sun location where a large tree has room to grow. At maturity, white oaks will be 60-100 feet tall with a canopy spread of 40-60 feet wide.
We recommend planting Arbor Day seedlings in moist potting soil in a large (5-10 gallon) planter as soon as you bring them home. Keep the planter in view so you can see when it needs water and baby the seedling until the fall so that roots establish and grow strong. In October, transplant the seedling into the selected planting site. Continue watering the seedling weekly as needed for 12 months.
Even if you can’t make it to the event, you can take a City of Cumming Arbor Day tree tour to see the native trees planted during previous Arbor Day Celebrations:
- 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.
- Southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora), planted February 2023 at the Cumming City Center, 423 Canton Road. This evergreen tree with large, glossy leaves and fragrant, white summer flowers is a southern favorite.
- Red Oak (Quercus rubra), planted February 2024 at the Forsyth County Tax Office, 1092 Tribble Gap Road. Red oaks support many different moths and butterflies as larvae host trees, and their acorns feed birds and wildlife from small mammals to deer and black bears.