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Tree Adoption Registration

Thank you so much for your inter­est. These reg­is­tra­tions fill up very quick­ly due to high demand! We also give many tar­get­ed low-canopy com­mu­ni­ties ear­ly access to reg­is­tra­tion before we release them to the pub­lic. This is part of our work to ensure every­one has equal access to the ben­e­fits trees provide.

Add beau­ty to your land­scape with trees from Tree Pitts­burgh. We select those that are either native or proven hardy for our region. This year, we are offer­ing shrubs as well as trees! There is a lim­it of three plants per household.

Trees and shrubs should be plant­ed on pri­vate prop­er­ty where you have per­mis­sion to plant. Trees may not be plant­ed in the grass between the side­walk and the road.

Tree Adoption Events — Fall 2023

Fall 2023 Locations
  • Deer Lakes Park — Sat­ur­day, Sep­tem­ber 23 from 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m REGISTRATION FULL 
    • Vet­er­ans Shel­ter (Between the Low­er and Mid­dle Lake on Mahaf­fey Road)
      Mahaf­fey Road
      West Deer Town­ship, PA 15084
  • White Oak Park — Sat­ur­day, Octo­ber 7 from 11:00 a.m. — 1:00 p.m.
    • White Oak Park Office
      3 Muse Lane
      White Oak, PA 15131
  • Set­tlers Cab­in Park — Sat­ur­day, Octo­ber 28 from 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. REGISTRATION FULL
    • Wave Pool Park­ing Lot
      635 Ridge Road
      Robin­son Town­ship, PA 15205
  • Tree Pitts­burgh — Sat­ur­day, Novem­ber 18 from 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m REGISTRATION FULL
    • 32 62nd Street
      Pitts­burgh, PA 15201

We don’t offer a wait­list for our adop­tion events. How­ev­er, if you’re able to come at the end of an event, we may have trees remain­ing from peo­ple who do not pick up their trees. No reg­is­tra­tion required, just stop by!

Fall 2023 Tree Species

All of the plants avail­able for adop­tion are list­ed below. Please note that not every plant is avail­able at each loca­tion. See more details about each tree at this link.
  • Amer­i­can sycamore: full sun, mature height 75–100 ft
  • Black cher­ry: full to par­tial sun, mature height 50–80 ft
  • Black­gum: full to par­tial sun, mature height 30–50 ft
  • East­ern red­bud: full to par­tial sun, mature height 20–30 ft
  • Gray dog­wood (shrub): full to par­tial sun, mature height 10–15 ft
  • Shad­blow ser­vice­ber­ry: full to par­tial sun, mature height 25–30 ft
  • Sweet­bay mag­no­lia: full to par­tial sun, mature height 10–35 ft
  • Tulip poplar: full to par­tial sun, mature height 60–70 ft
  • Vir­ginia pine: full sun, mature height 15–40 ft
  • Yel­low buck­eye: full to par­tial sun, mature height 50–75 ft

Tree Adoption FAQs

How big are the trees at pickup?
Trees and shrubs are in 2‑gallon con­tain­ers, mea­sur­ing 8 3/4” in diam­e­ter and 8 ½” deep. All plants will fit in your vehicle.

How do I plant my tree?
Once you receive your tree, you’ll need to know how to plant it! We’ve cre­at­ed a video and a fly­er to guide you through plant­i­ng your tree.

What species should I choose and how do I know the right place to plant on my property?
When choos­ing a species and where to plant it, it’s impor­tant to con­sid­er a few fac­tors so your tree will thrive for years to come! First, be sure to con­sid­er the avail­able space in your yard for roots and branch­es as the tree matures. Sec­ond, it’s impor­tant to note if there are any over­head util­i­ty wires or under­ground util­i­ty pipes where you are con­sid­er­ing plant­i­ng the tree. Check out the Right Tree, Right Place guide from the Arbor Day Foun­da­tion for help in deter­min­ing the best tree and plant­i­ng loca­tion for you.

How does Tree Pitts­burgh choose what tree species to offer?
Many fac­tors are con­sid­ered when Tree Pitts­burgh staff choos­es the avail­able trees for a tree adop­tion event sea­son. As our trees are grown in our Her­itage Nurs­ery, we con­sid­er what is avail­able at that time of year and what trees grow well in our area. We always choose native species when pos­si­ble, but occa­sion­al­ly offer a few non-native species that, with the chang­ing cli­mate as well as new pests and dis­eases, will also thrive here.

I want a flow­er­ing tree for my yard, but you always run out of those quick­ly. Why don’t you offer more?
This is a great oppor­tu­ni­ty for us to dis­cuss the impor­tance of bio­di­ver­si­ty! Bio­di­ver­si­ty is the vari­ety of life in the world or in a par­tic­u­lar habi­tat, or ecosys­tem. Tree bio­di­ver­si­ty is impor­tant for many rea­sons. Dif­fer­ent trees offer food and habi­tat for many dif­fer­ent types of insects and birds, which sup­port a healthy ecosys­tem. Dif­fer­ent trees offer us dif­fer­ent but equal­ly impor­tant ben­e­fits, such as lots of shade or fruit to eat. By increas­ing the diver­si­ty of the species of trees in our neigh­bor­hoods, we improve the qual­i­ty of life for all beings!

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