Get your free maple trees on April 5

Use that next sunny day to dig a couple of holes in the yard.

Post Falls, Coeur d’Alene and Hayden residents will get the chance to fill those holes with free trees on April 5.

The “Plant-a-Tree Day” event at Q’emiln Park will distribute 3,000 maple trees provided by the Post Falls Parks and Recreation Department’s Urban Forestry Division.

The 6- to 8-foot bare-root trees would sell for $100 apiece at a nursery, said Post Falls Urban Forester Angel Spell. The giveaway is limited to two trees per person or three per household.

Local foresters and Master Gardeners hope the event will improve the urban canopy and educate people about the proper way to plant trees in their yards.

Homeowners will have the opportunity to learn more about what makes a tree thrive and to get an early-bird pass to the free tree event by attending one of six one-hour workshops prior to the tree giveaway.

Trees were purchased with money donated by Panhandle State Bank, JUB Engineering, ReMax and First American Title.

“I want them to have a good home and good care,” Spell said of the Autumn Blaze, Sienna Glen, Fall Fiesta Sugar and Red Sunset maple trees.

Spring is the perfect time of year to plant trees, Spell explained. The temperatures are cool, but not cold, and there’s enough sunshine to give the plants the energy they need. Moisture levels in the soil are usually good.

Trees picked up at the event will have bare roots, so should be planted the same day.

Dorothy Kienke and other members of the University of Idaho-Kootenai County Extension Office will be on hand at the tree giveaway to advise people on their new saplings

“One of the major mistakes is planting trees too deep,” said Kienke. “You want the trunk flare – the part where the bark ends and roots begin – to be level with the ground.”

If any of the bark ends up underground it will rot.

Kienke said that any roots circling the trunk should be pulled out so they extend out from the tree. The hole should be at lest two times the size of the root ball.

Spell and Kienke offered differing advice about what to add to the soil. Spell said that adding compost to the hole is a good idea, but Kienke said the dirt should be left as is.

“If the planting hole is too rich the roots aren’t going to leave that smorgasbord and go out in the parent soil,” she said.

Either way, both said that giving the tree enough water for the first couple of years is essential to making sure it thrives for years to come.