Pensacola Park Neighborhood Association (PPNA) was recently awarded grant money from the city of Lexington and Lex Grow Trees to buy trees to increasing the canopy in our neighborhood. We will use the money to purchase the trees and give them away (FREE!) to homeowners. We are offering first to lots in the neighborhood that have the fewest trees, then we will open the offer to the rest of the neighborhood on a first-come, first-served basis.
- Your tree can be planted anywhere in the front of your property, which includes the verge. All free trees will be a minimum of 1.5” caliper. The list of available trees is on the application.
- Please note if you are locating your tree in the verge under a power line:
You can only plant a tree from the small to mid-sized list.
- After you’ve received confirmation from us that we can get your tree, you must apply for a street tree permit from the city. Please let us know when you have received your permit.
- Please make first, second, and third choices for your tree on the application. While we will aim to get your first choice, we may not be able to acquire it. We will inform you if you will not be getting your first choice. The grant limits planting similar tree species to 30%, so preferential species selection will be based on the order of application submissions. If you would like to get a species of tree that is not listed on the application, please note the species and we will see if we can locate it for you as a special tree. For special trees, we will allocate $150 of the grant money toward this purchase for you, but you will be responsible for the remaining cost for a specialized tree. Prohibited trees for the grant are: Callery/Bradford Pears, Red Maples, and any invasive species listed on the Kentucky Invasive Plant Council (KY-IPC) List.
- We will provide notice at least 7 days ahead of your tree delivery so you can prepare the planting site. You will be responsible for digging your tree hole. Please call 811 prior to any digging, to ensure you are not hitting any utility pipes. We ask that a 30” in diameter and 20” in depth hole is dug. PPNA will deliver the tree, adjust the hole for the tree ball (if needed), place it in the hole, cover it with dirt, and add a layer of mulch. Please make sure to keep the dirt you have dug up by the hole because a lot of it needs to go back into the hole. We recommend putting it on a tarp.
- Each neighbor who receives a free tree is responsible for the watering and pruning. The tree will need a 5-gallon bucket of water the first day it is planted, and once a week for at least two months after this. During any hot weeks, watering twice a week is recommended. If the tree dies due to poor maintenance, there is no guaranteed replacement.
For locations WITH overhead utility or verge conflict, select from this list of smaller trees only:
- American hornbeam
- Dogwood- Kousa (full sun)
- Dogwood – flowering (afternoon shade; Cherokee Princess, Cherokee Chief, or Cloud 9)
- Japanese cherry
- Serviceberry
- White fringe tree
- “Winter King” hawthorn
For locations WITHOUT overhead utility or verge conflict, you can select from the above list or the following larger trees:
- American holly
- Bald cypress
- Blackgum
- Eastern hemlock
- Eastern hophornbeam
- Green giant arborvitae
- Kentucky coffeetree (male)
- Northern red oak
- Scarlet oak
- Southern magnolia
- Sugar maple
- Thornless honeylocust
- Tulip Poplar
- Yellowwood
If you have any questions, please reach out to your street captains.
If you would like a tree, please contact us here or email us at pensacolapark@gmail.com:
- your name
- address
- email address
- phone number
- tree choice #1
- tree choice #2
- tree choice #3
We are very excited to be able to offer you a free tree to help increase our tree canopy!
Pensacola Park 