Arbor Day tree and shrub distribution is Saturday at three locations

By Bonnie Orr
WSU Chelan/Douglas County Master Gardener
April 21, 2022


image of 3 people at Arbor Day tree sale.
WSU Master Gardeners Emilie Fogle, left, and Anita Poortinga bag 10 trees for Shawn Hunstock during the 2019 Arbor Day tree distribution. This year’s distribution day is Saturday, with trees and shrubs available at three sites.
World file photo/Mike Bonnicksen

Bonnie Orr
Bonnie Orr – WSU Chelan/Douglas County Master Gardener – photo by Don Seabrook, Wenatchee World

The Greater Wenatchee Arbor Day Celebration will take place on Saturday. The plants for distribution have been selected with drought tolerance and Firewise characteristics in mind.

The plants will need regular water for the first two years until their roots are developed. Trees and shrubs need to be planted in full sun. These plants are drought tolerant once established. Also, keep in mind the spacing for a tree and its proximity to structures and power lines.

The annual Greater Wenatchee Arbor Day Celebration will be held at three sites in Chelan and Douglas counties on Saturday:

  • Wenatchee: Pybus Public Market, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
  • East Wenatchee City Hall: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
  • Cashmere: Martin’s Marketplace, 9 a.m. to noon

Bring a bag to put your trees and shrubs in. A $3 donation per plant will cover the cost of the plant.

Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum)
This large, deciduous tree is native to the northeastern United States. A source of maple sugar, it grows moderately fast to a height of 60 feet to 70 feet or more. Good fall colors of yellows, oranges and reds. Plant where it has access to plenty of water. Deep watering and periodic fertilizing will help keep roots below the soil surface.

  • Growth rate: Fast
  • Max height: 70 feet
  • Max width: 45 feet
  • Drought hardy: No

Northern Bayberry (Myrica pensylvanica)
This fast-growing, semi-evergreen shrub is native to North America’s east coast. It can reach up to 6-feet tall with a mounded irregular shape and upright branching habit. Foliage is dark green, leathery, and very aromatic when crushed. During harsh winters, leaves may turn bronze or tan and fall, but in mild winters can remain green. Female plants produce small, gray-blue, waxy berries. Bayberry is a tough shrub, tolerating a variety of soils. It prefers full sun but will tolerate partial shade. It responds well to pruning and can be shaped into a hedge or topiary.

  • Wildlife benefits: Birds and small mammals
  • Growth rate: Fast
  • Max height: 6 feet
  • Max width: 12’
  • Drought hardy: Yes

Shrubby/Bush Cinquefoil (Potentilla fruiticosa)
A flowering northwest native, this shrub grows from low valleys to mountain peaks, in wetland to upland sites and rock ledges. It is tolerant of cold, heat, drought and flooding, and saline, acidic and alkaline soils. It thrives in calcareous soils and full sun, and then blooms continuously from June until frost. Seedlings establish easily and will reach a mature height of 4 feet to 6 feet in about five years. We recommend it for stabilizing streambanks, revegetating disturbed sites, road cuts and mine tailings. Shrubby cinquefoil can also be used in the outer row of a windbreak and as a landscape ornamental.

  • Wildlife benefits: Birds and small mammals
  • Growth rate: Slow
  • Max height: 6 feet
  • Max width: 4 feet
  • Drought hardy: Yes

Red Flowering Currant (Ribes sanguineum)
This plant bears pendulous red flower clusters on a 6- to 8-foot shrub in spring, followed by blue to black berries in the fall that are unpalatable to humans but loved by birds and other wildlife. The leaves are maple-like and turn yellow in autumn. This shrub prefers dry to moist, well-drained sites in full sun to partial shade. It would be an excellent choice as a landscape plant, soil stabilizer, natural hedge, or in the outer row of multiple row windbreaks.

  • Wildlife benefits: Birds and small mammals
  • Growth rate: Medium
  • Max height: 8 feet
  • Max width: 10 feet
  • Drought hardy: Yes

Limber Pine (Pinus flexius)
A native found in the mountains of Eastern Washington and Idaho, this slower-growing, long-lived tree reaches 20- to 40-feet tall and 15- to 30-feet wide, making it an excellent choice for many landscaping situations. It has beautiful, long needles. It is drought, cold and high-elevation tolerant, which makes it a great candidate for revegetation projects. Limber pine can withstand severe environments and a range of soils but grows best in full sun and well-drained soil. This pine has deep tap roots and is very windfirm. As the name implies, Limber pine has very flexible branches that bend to withstand heavy snow and ice loads.

  • Wildlife benefits: Birds, and small and large mammals
  • Growth rate: Slow
  • Max height: 40 feet
  • Max width: 35 feet
  • Drought hardy: Yes

If you have questions about the Arbor Day tree and shrub distribution, send an email to bonnieevelyn@nwi.net.

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