Media Contact: John Lisle, (202) 671-2004

(Washington, DC)  The District Department of Transportation’s Urban Forestry Administration (UFA) is launching a new tree planting pilot program this week. In this demonstration project, UFA is experimenting with planting “bare root” trees as street trees.

The results could yield significant financial savings: bare root trees are delivered without soil, which saves on the cost of shipping. There are potential environmental benefits as well because bare root trees don’t require as much packaging and establish themselves at a faster rate. Bare Root trees tend to be bigger trees from the start and have larger root systems than comparably sized “balled and burlapped” trees. The larger root system reduces the establishment rate timeline and allows for quicker rooting into the existing soil.

UFA will plant 100 bare root trees throughout the city and track them over the next several years to determine if it would be advantageous to add this planting method to its regular street tree-planting program. The pilot program is funded by an enhancement grant from DDOT’s Transportation Policy and Planning Administration (TPPA).

The mission of the Urban Forestry Administration is to establish a full population of street trees within the District and to ensure that those street trees are maintained in a healthy and safe condition. UFA has 16 certified arborists on staff who care for approximately 244,000 trees throughout the city.