Minneapolis has a few hundred thousand trees, about 600,000 of them managed by the Park Board. They make the city more beautiful, cooler in the summer, quieter in some places, and healthier.
Leaf n’ Learn Tree Care Festival
Saturday, May 31 from Noon to 3 p.m. at Utepils Brewing, 225 Thomas Ave. N. Minneapolis, MN 55405
This is a family-friendly tree care festival put on by the City of Minneapolis. It is an opportunity to learn how to take care of your trees and purchase one for just $30. There will also be tree-related art.
Tree experts and local organizations will share ways to keep your trees healthy:
- Soil: Learn how to improve soil health and care for their roots
- Light: Learn where to plant based on its sunlight needs
- Air: Learn how to space tree plantings and how pruning helps support tree strength
- Water: Get tips on how and when to water after planting
Whether you’re planting your first sapling or you’re a seasoned tree lover, there’s something here for everyone.
Watering
Trees need water to stay healthy, and we’ve had fairly bad droughts in recent years. Right now (May 2025), we don’t have a drought, but it’s a dry stretch, and younger trees may be stressed from previous years.
The Minneapolis Park Board has guidance on how and when to water trees. Basically, make sure they get an inch of water per week. A trickle is probably best, but water bags and buckets can work.
Mulching
A tree might like mulch around its base, but if you pile it up around the trunk, that’s bad. If the trunk is buried, even partially, you could get roots growing up around the trunk and basically strangling the tree as it tries to grow. It’s called root collar disorder.
