Now is the best time to plant trees in Sacramento; get some for free
Blue oaks like the one at left are popular drought-tolerant shade trees. Trees of all kinds help keep neighborhoods cool. Kathy Morrison
Shade: On a scorching summer day, it’s one of the most valuable assets for any home in the Sacramento region – and you can grow your own.
“It’s the difference between a livable summer and one that’s really stifling, not just uncomfortable but could threaten your life,” says Stephanie Robinson, communications and marketing manager for the Sacramento Tree Foundation. “If you lost a big shade tree recently, you really noticed the difference – especially this summer. You don’t realize until it’s gone how valuable shade is.”
Not only your own home is affected, she adds. “Shade trees keep your whole neighborhood cooler. Without trees, all that heat is absorbed by asphalt.”
Tree-lined streets lower the temperature of surrounding homes and improve the neighborhood’s quality of life, Robinson notes. “That’s why it’s one of the main priorities for our mission (at the foundation); plant more shade.”
SacTree volunteers tested their theories of shade tree impact on neighborhoods with a drive around Sacramento neighborhoods on a summer afternoon, Robinson says. “There was a 20-degree difference between the hottest and the shadiest neighborhoods at afternoon peak highs. That can be the difference between life and death for people without air conditioning.”
Now is the time to plan ahead and plant some shade. Fall is the best tree-planting season in the greater Sacramento area. While some trees have reputations as water hogs (specifically coastal redwoods), many other water-wise choices are available.
“If you’re re-doing your landscape, think trees first,” says Robinson. “It’s not just shade, but wildlife habitat. You can build trees into your water budget. It costs less than $3 a month to water a mature tree. A young tree costs only pennies. You can afford to invest in that shade.”
SacTree partners with the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) to offer up to 10 free shade trees to customers. Since 1990, the program has planted more than 600,000 local trees. Details here: https://www.smud.org/en/Going-Green/Free-Shade-Trees
Participants contact SacTree and set up an appointment with a community forester. That program has expanded to include evergreens as well as trees that shade portions of a customer’s property other than their home.
“Shading landscape saves water because there’s less transpiration,” Robinson says. “There are many benefits of shade trees.”
Among the most popular water-wise shade trees for Sacramento landscapes are native oaks: Valley oak, interior live oak and blue oak.
“People love oaks,” says Robinson. “They’re sturdy, long-lived and (the deciduous varieties) offer a rainbow of fall color.”
Oaks take time to grow. A faster option is a zelkova; native to Japan, these trees can reach 60 feet in a hurry. “It’s a big, beautiful shade tree that grows fast,” Robinson says.
“Chinese pistache are still very popular, and the new cultivars are not as messy,” she adds. “Right now, people are very interested in trees that flower and support pollinators. The favorites are desert willow, vitex and strawberry trees.”
SacTree has many more suggestions in its “Shady 80,” its selection of best trees for Sacramento. This urban forest features dozens of water-wise choices: https://sactree.org/best-trees-for-sacramento/.
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Garden Checklist for week of April 21
This week there’s plenty to keep gardeners busy. With no rain in the immediate forecast, remember to irrigate any new transplants.
* Weed, weed, weed! Get them before they flower and go to seed.
* April is the last chance to plant citrus trees such as dwarf orange, lemon and kumquat. These trees also look good in landscaping and provide fresh fruit in winter.
* Smell orange blossoms? Feed citrus trees with a low dose of balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10) during bloom to help set fruit. Keep an eye out for ants.
* Apply slow-release fertilizer to the lawn.
* Thoroughly clean debris from the bottom of outdoor ponds or fountains.
* Spring brings a flush of rapid growth, and that means your garden is really hungry. Feed shrubs and trees with a slow-release fertilizer. Or mulch with a 1-inch layer of compost.
* Azaleas and camellias looking a little yellow? If leaves are turning yellow between the veins, give them a boost with chelated iron.
* Trim dead flowers but not leaves from spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Those leaves gather energy to create next year's flowers. Also, give the bulbs a fertilizer boost after bloom.
* Pinch chrysanthemums back to 12 inches for fall flowers. Cut old stems to the ground.
* Mulch around plants to conserve moisture and control weeds.
* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, radishes and squash.
* Plant onion sets.
* In the flower garden, plant seeds for asters, cosmos, celosia, marigolds, salvia, sunflowers and zinnias.
* Transplant petunias, zinnias, geraniums and other summer bloomers.
* Plant perennials and dahlia tubers for summer bloom.
* Mid to late April is about the last chance to plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.
* Transplant lettuce seedlings. Choose varieties that mature quickly such as loose leaf.
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