Ready for some free trees?

A “Free Tree Give-Away,” a City of Bastrop event, will be held Saturday, Feb. 11, beginning at 9 a.m. at the parking lot of the city’s Public Works building at 1209 Linden St., next to Jewell Hodges Park.

Approximately 2,000 five-gallon trees, will be given away to city residents and those affected by the Bastrop County Complex Fire.

“There’s a multitude of reasons the city is doing this – it’s a perfect time to plant trees, we are a Tree City USA and we can help people affected by the fires,” said city planner Melissa McCollum, one of the organizers of the event. “Funding for trees is provided by the Apache Foundation, and the trees were grown at Native Texas Nursery.”

“These are some great trees, the retail value ranges from $35-65 per tree, so a free give-away is quite a deal,” McCollum said. “Each tree is a five-gallon tree, and there will also be tree-planting demonstrations.”

The trees include Bur Oak (280), Cedar Elm (450), Chinquapin Oak (450), Eve’s Necklace (67), Mexican White Oak (250), Flame Leaf Sumac (200), Rough-leaf Dogwood (50), Texas Persimmon (200) and Texas Redbud (68).

Also, a book will be available for a small donation that gives novice landscapers all of the information they need for selecting, planting and caring for trees suitable for planting in this zone.

The event is sponsored by the city’s parks department, the Bastrop Tree Committee, the Texas Forest Service, Apache Foundation and Tree Folks.