Free Trees and Shrubs

Trees and Shrubs Planted for You for FREE!

Homeowners in the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area are eligible to have a professional landscaper plant trees and shrubs on their property for FREE! Almost all homeowners in SCA are in the Critical Area.

Application DEADLINE: April 30, 2026

Link to the application documents. All submissions must be electronic. 

• Application Package Checklist (PDF)
• Critical Area Reforestation Application (PDF)
• CA Reforestation Property Information and Plant List (Excel)

Calvert County Free Tree and Shrub Program Resources

• Calvert County property information (Tax Map#, Parcel#, and Lot#) for page one of the application. Calvert County property information example.  (See attached.) 

• Calvert County topographic map for every address. Use this or Google Maps to draw your planting plan.  Choose Property and Topo Map: "I want to use the Property Finder Wizard to locate a specific property." Then, choose "Find a property by entering an address." Then, enter your address and print a map of it.

Additional Resources

• Keystone Plants by Ecoregion (nwf.org) (Click on Eastern Temperate Forests)

• Native Plants for Wildlife Habitat and Conservation Landscaping: Chesapeake Bay Watershed, USFWS 

• Invasive species list. 
• How to control invasives

• The Native Plant Center (You can search by region -- we are Coastal Plain, by soil moisture, by soil type -- clay and/or loam, by sunlight exposure, by two sizes of trees, and by three sizes of shrubs. Click on all of the features you want before clicking on Submit.) 

Feel free to reach out to these members of the Environmental Protection and Land Management Committee for assistance: 

• Jody Longhill, jody.longhill@gmail.com
• Diana Dennett, ddennett@gmail.com
• Justin Rydstrom, Justin.rydstrom@gmail.com
• Margaret Shillingford, marg222u@aol.com
• Mark Smith marcosmyth@gmail.com