Winter Haven – The City of Winter Haven will be hosting its 10th annual Florida Arbor Day Tree Giveaway in South Central Park on Saturday, January 18th, 2025 from 11 am – 3 pm. This event will offer residents a free 3-gallon sized tree once they have attended three short educational demonstrations on how to properly plant, prune, and select the correct species for their space. 150 free trees will be available.
The species offered this year will be Seagrape (Coccoloba uvifera) – a tropical looking tree that thrives away from the beach, and can be pruned into many different growth patterns, often becoming a beautiful shade tree. Red Maples (Acer rubrum) will also be available which offer a rare glimpse of fall color in our area and grow into a large shade tree. Finally, Bald Cypress trees (Taxodium distichum) will be available – these adaptable trees while being an iconic wetland tree of our area can thrive in drier, urban soils as well and make a beautiful addition to any landscape – offering shade in the summer, and losing their leaves in Winter to allow for sun.