The sixth Annual Tree Sale is underway in Valdosta. Due to the recent storms, Valdosta Tree Commissioners have moved up the sale to help with replanting efforts.
Valdosta Tree Commission—which regulates the area’s planting and removal of trees—held a tree sale earlier this year. The next one would have been months away, but the commission’s vice chair Monica Haynes says they felt it necessary to move the sale earlier.
“This Summer, we saw a lot of storms, especially the Tropical Storm Hermine,” she said. “And, a whole lot of the area lost quite a bit of trees and it seems to be a lot of the pines that fell, a lot of large trees, and the city had quite a mess after the storm and it was obvious that a lot of residents lost quite a bit of trees and this sale will help us to be able to replant in the community.”
Haynes says the purpose of the annual tree sale is to offer the community trees for an affordable price. This year, the commission is offering Longleaf pines, which are more resilient during stormy weather. Tea Olives and Encore Azaleas are a few shrubs also on sale.
“With us being an Azalea city, it just seems right to be able to offer such a nice blooming Azalea at a wholesale price because they do normally run rather expensive,” Haynes added. “So, we want to offer a little bit more this year. We’re hoping that the community will welcome the new shrubs as well as the trees this year.”
Interested Valdosta residents must pre-order the plants they want by November 4th. For more information on the plants on sale and how to purchase them, visit the city of Valdosta's website.
For more news updates, follow Sascha Cordner on Twitter: @SaschaCordner.