Keep Bartow Beautiful sponsors annual Arbor Day Programs in February and April. In February, the celebration of Georgia’s Arbor Day is held annually on the third Friday in February. This is the best planting time for trees in Georgia. On or around this date, tree seedlings are given out to interested citizens through the city halls in Bartow County, on a first come-first serve basis. Adopt-a-Road groups who clean up their roadways during February and send in reports will also receive free tree seedlings.

The Arbor Day program also can include educational displays, school tree plantings, and the addition of trees to the Georgia Urban Forest Council’s Landmark and Historic Trees Registry. Currently, the state listing includes the Springbank Oak on Hall Station Road. Other trees are being considered, including the Beasley Gap-Old Pine Log Village Pine Tree. To nominate a historic or landmark tree, email us at henshaws@bartowga.org.

Keep Bartow Beautiful also maintains a Great Tree Hunt Listing of the largest trees in Bartow County. These trees are nominated by their owners, or by local citizens, and are judged by tree experts as the largest submitted. The contest is ongoing, with new trees added annually. To nominate a tree for listing, or to see a complete list, just email us at henshaws@bartowga.org.

The National Arbor Day is celebrated on the fourth Friday in April. This date is recognized annually by Keep Bartow Beautiful at the Government Week festivities through a drawing to give away trees and other environmental door prizes.

For more information on trees, go to the Georgia Urban Forest Council site at www.gufc.org. There you can see the complete listing for the Landmark and Historic Trees Registry. The Georgia Forestry Commission also has information about ordering tree seedlings, planting procedures, and more. They may be visited at www.gfc.state.ga.us. You may also visit the National Arbor Day Foundation at www.arborday.org.


“Arbor Day…which has already transplanted itself…to every state in the American Union and has even been adopted in foreign lands…is not like other holidays. Each of those reposes on the past, while Arbor Day proposes for the future.” J. Sterling Morton, Founder of Arbor Day