Tree Giveaway 2025
This Earth Day, the City of Burlington is offering free trees and shrubs to residents of Burlington to pick up and plant on private property. The giveaway will be hosted over two days – April 22 and April 23 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Roads, Parks and Forestry Operation Centre Parking Lot at 831 Cumberland Ave. (note: this is a slight change in location from previous years).
Property owners can submit their request for a tree through the completion of the online form beginning at 9 a.m. on Friday, April 4 until it closes at 5 p.m. on Monday, April 21, or while supplies last.
Please visit the links below for more information and to register. There is a different link for each day – note that different species are offered on each day with only trees offered on the 22nd, and mostly shrubs offered on the 23rd.
There is a limit of one tree or shrub per property. There are a limited number of species available – make sure that you are familiar with the requirements of each species available and that it is the right, long-term fit for the location you have in mind.
Each species has an associated pick-up window as follows – please note that the current species list is tentative and may be slightly different at the time of registration:
April 22nd, 4-7 pm (all are tree species):
Pick up 4-4:20 p.m. White pine (Pinus strobus)
Pick up 4:20-4:40 p.m. Red pine (Pinus resinosa)
Pick up 4:40-5 p.m. White spruce (Picea glauca)
Pick up 5-5:20 p.m. Tamarack (Larix laricina)
Pick up 5:20-5:40 p.m. Bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa)
Pick up 5:40-6 p.m. Kentucky coffeetree (Gymnocladus dioica)
Pick up 6-6:20 p.m. Ironwood (Ostrya virginiana)
Pick up 6:20-6:40 p.m. Black cherry (Prunus serotina)
Pick up 6:40-7 p.m. Blue beech (Carpinus caroliniana)
April 23rd, 4-7 pm (the first is a small tree species, the following are shrub species):
Pick up 4-4:30 p.m. Eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis)
Pick up 4:30-5 p.m. Mapleleaf viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium)
Pick up 5-5:30 p.m. Witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana)
Pick up 5:30-6 p.m. Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis)
Pick up 6-6:30 p.m. Pussy willow (Salix discolor)
Pick up 6:30-7 p.m. Fragrant sumac (Rhus aromatica)
The trees will be in 3-gallon pots with a height range of 40 – 200 cm. The shrubs will be in 2-gallon pots with a height range of 25 – 100 cm. A City staff member will place the tree/shrub into your vehicle for you.
For more information about these species and other native trees, you can consult Ontario’s Tree Atlas www.ontario.ca/page/tree-atlas/ontario-southwest (Southwest region). For more information about these shrubs and other native plants, you can consult CanPlant’s native plant database https://networkofnature.org/species/
