UPDATE: The Specimen Tree Restoration Program is sold out for 2013! If you would like to be alerted when next year’s tree list comes out, please leave your contact information:
“The trees along the streets are numerous, and arranged in a manner which is not usual in American cities. They rather generally overhang the street from the front or side yards of the houses. A large part of the quality of the more agreeable Newport streets, both in the poorer quarters and in the more fashionable, depends upon the very irregular disposition of the trees, and their variation in kind and size, giving a delightful play of light and shade. The fact that these trees are so frequently to be found growing in the side yards of houses indicates a…fact of considerable importance, namely, that there are generally side yards in which the trees can grow.” – Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., Proposed Improvements for Newport, 1913
75 specimen-quality trees will be given annually, at no cost, to Newport residents who agree to plant them on their private property and care for them.
The City of Newport currently plants trees up to 20’ onto private property through its Bare Root Tree Planting Program — but this program can only plant trees on a fraction of land area that will require replanting to maintain Newport’s unique character. The new Specimen Tree Restoration Program will effectively test a pragmatic method to widely distribute and plant specimen trees across a city: with the support of donors, trees will be given away at no charge to property owners without restrictions on placement (aside from site suitability). In return, property owners commit to planting and maintaining the tree.
Members of the Newport Tree Society will confirm site suitability, and property owners will sign an agreement with the NTS to act as a Tree Steward and to plant the trees in the identified locations. A tree planting clinic will be conducted this coming spring for all tree recipients.
Newport citizens are in need of support in making wise choices when choosing and planting specimen trees for the next generation. The Newport Arboretum’s Specimen Tree Planting Program will fill an existing gap in Newport’s urban forest management program, and will act as a model for other cities and towns.
Funded by a grant from the Helen Walker Raleigh Tree Care Trust.
For help choosing a planting site, see Trees Are Good. You can also search for your tree on SelecTree to see planting site requirements. If SelecTree does not have your specific cultivar, search for the general species. For example, for Crimson Spire Oak (Quercus robur x alba), see Quercus robur. CHECK THE DROPDOWN TREE LISTS ON THE ORDER FORM TO SEE WHICH TREES HAVE ALREADY SOLD OUT.
Specimen Trees available for Spring 2013
Persian Ironwood
Parrotia persica 'Vanessa'
Height: 30' Spread: 10'-15'
Wildfire Blackgum
Nyssa sylvatica 'Wildfire'
Height: 30'-50' Spread: 20'-30'
Loebner Magnolia
Magnolia x loebneri 'Leonard Messel'
Height: 15'-30' Spread: 15'-30'
Worplesdon Sweetgum
Liguidambar styraciflua 'Worplesdon' Height: 50-60 ft Spread: 30-40 ft
Green Weeping European Beech
Green Weeping European Beech Fagus sylvatica 'Pendula' Height: 30-50 ft Spread: 40-50 ft
Dawyck Purple European Beech
Fagus sylvatica ‘Dawyck Purple’ Height: 50-60 ft Spread: 40-50 ft
Chinese Fringetree
Chionanthus retusus Height: 20’ Spread: 25’
River’s Purple European Beech
Fagus sylvatica 'Riversii' Height: 50' Spread: 30'
Starlight Dogwood
Cornus kousa 'Starlight' Height: 30' Spread: 25'
Commemoration Sugar Maple
Acer saccharum ‘Commemoration’ Height: 50' Width: 30'
American Hornbeam
Carpinus caroliniana Height: 25' Spread: 20'
