Improve your neighborhood’s air quality and beautify your home! A Tree Giveaway sponsored by the Arbor Lodge Neighborhood Association Tree Team is offering trees to people in our community for free on Sunday, March 1, 2026.
These trees and shrubs have been selected because they grow well in our micro-climate of North Portland. At the event, we’ll be able to answer questions on how to plant and care for your tree, but we also recommend familiarizing yourself with the resources below.
Reserve your tree online here, then come to east side of Arbor Lodge Park at N Bryant St. & N Delaware Ave. on Sunday, March 1st, from 10 am to noon to pick up your tree.
The trees still available are:
Photo from Ridgefield Rountable.
Black Hawthorn (Crataegus douglasii)
A resilient Pacific Northwest native tree that thrives in the Portland area. This small to medium tree (15-25 feet tall, 12-20 feet wide) offers white spring blossoms, glossy dark berries, and excellent habitat value for birds and pollinators. It tolerates a wide range of soils — including dry or compacted sites — and requires minimal care once established. Because it has thorns, it’s best planted away from high-traffic or play areas. Plant in full sun to partial shade. Water regularly during the first 2 – 3 summers, adjusting for heat and rainfall, to help the tree establish.
Cascara (Frangula purshiana)
This native tree can grow to up to 30 feet in height, but only half as wide. It tolerates many soil types and light conditions but not full shade. Medium small green leaves add small flowers that attract many native pollinators. The small fruits are popular with many bird species from Robins to Tanagers, Bush Tits and Chickadees to name a few. The bark is shaggy and has been harvested as a laxative for centuries.
Interior Live Oak (Quercus wislizeni)
Called “live” because it’s evergreen, this tree is native to California and does well here in the Willamette Valley. It may get up to 60 feet tall and slightly less than that in width. Its leaves are leathery, simple, spiny-toothed, and about 1 ½ inches long. Acorns are about 1 inch long and torpedo-shaped. The bark is gray and furrowed. This is a wonderful oak tree! Plant it in well-drained soil with full sun and lots of space! Once established, it needs little water.
Photo from Plants Unlimited.
Sweet Bay Magnolia (Magnolia virginiana)
A broadleaf evergreen to semi-evergreen, 20-30 feet tall, 15-20 feet wide, with a spreading, rounded crown or open, multi-stemmed shrub. The flowers are sweetly fragrant, white, 9-12 petaled, and 2-3 inches in diameter. It is best grown in acidic, medium to wet soils in full sun to part shade. It prefers moist, rich, organic soils, but, unlike most other magnolias, tolerates wet, boggy soils. It has average water needs: water deeply 1-2x/week in dry season for first 2 years. After that, it will be relatively drought-tolerant, but will still appreciate occasional deep watering, especially during dry spells.