Sacramento Shade

Add clean air, cooler temperatures, and beauty to your home or business

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Get a free landscape assessment and up to 10 free shade trees delivered to your home or business. All SMUD customers qualify - including homeowners, renters, and businesses.

How it works

  1. Check to see if you're eligible for the program - are you a SMUD customer? Do you have space on your property to plant trees in the ground? See the application below for more details.

  2. We will contact you to schedule an appointment. Assessment appointments are usually virtual, but some in-person appointments are available if your property qualifies.

  3. Meet with a forester to determine the best spots to plant trees and which species will grow well there. We offer over 40 different species!

  4. Your trees will be delivered to your property with stakes, ties, and helpful information on how to plant and care for the trees.

  5. Once you receive your trees, it's time for you to plant them! You'll find our best tips in our planting video or in the pamphlet delivered with your tree.

  6. Reach out to us anytime you have questions about caring for your trees, or check out our tree care resources for tips and videos.

About the program
Tree Services Technician Chau Tran delivering free shade trees to a SMUD customer through the Sacramento Shade program
SMUD logo

This program is made possible by SMUD. Over 600,000 trees have been planted since our partnership began 30+ years ago!

Sign up for a siting appointment

Want free trees for a larger community space like a park, school, neighborhood, or place of worship? Apply for a community planting instead!








Confirm eligibility

This program is only available to SMUD customers. We recommend checking if there is an organization like ours that serves your community. In California, check with California ReLeaf; outside of California, check with the Alliance for Community Trees.



We are happy to talk to you about how to work with property owners to get permission for planting trees, however if you know that they are unwilling to allow trees to be planted on the property, we will not be able to give you trees. Please call us at (916) 924-8733 if you would like support.

If you have used the program within the last three years and you want to replace one or more of your trees that have died, please fill out our replacement application.

We cannot provide trees for planting strips in the City of Sacramento. If you need a tree for your planting strip, please call 311, email 311@cityofsacramento.org, or submit an online service request.



If you are replacing a tree that has been removed or will be removed, you need to schedule an appointment for AFTER the tree removal. Please contact us once the tree has been removed to schedule your appointment.

Contact information
Please provide the contact information of the person who will attend the tree siting appointment (does not have to be on the SMUD account).







Property where tree(s) will be planted






Second property where tree(s) will be planted







Your tree plans




Appointment information
Most of our tree consultations can be done virtually using a video call on Microsoft Teams. We strongly encourage virtual consults because they can be scheduled several weeks sooner with greater flexibility. You do not have to turn your video on.

Please confirm below that you are comfortable with a virtual consult, or indicate that you would prefer an in-person consultation. 
Great. We use Google Maps during the virtual call to view aerial and street views of your property. Please confirm that the Google satellite view accurately reflects the property so our staff will be able to view the area you wish to plant. Alternatively, we can use any drone photos or landscape plans that you provide, or other satellite imagery such as Bing Maps.

Copy and paste the Google Maps link below into a new browser tab to view your property:


Frequently asked questions

Free trees available through this program

Availability may vary

Vitex agnus-castus - Chaste tree leaves & flowers

Chaste tree

Vitex agnus-castus

Chinese flame tree

Koelreuteria bipinnata

Chinese pistache

Pistacia chinensis

Zelkova serrata 'Musashino' - Columnar zelkova

Columnar zelkova

Zelkova serrata ‘Musashino’

A cork oak gracefully growing in a very dry urban planter strip

Cork oak

Quercus suber

A magnificent Deodar cedar trunk winds upward toward the sky while its drooping evergreen foliage shades a grassy field.

Deodar cedar

Cedrus deodara

A sweet Eastern redbud blooms in a front yard garden. This homeowner has created a special garden bed separate from the lawn for this tree and an evergreen shrub, free of grass so the tree will thrive.

Eastern redbud

Cercis canadensis

A European hornbeam grows in a grassy area with an oval-shaped canopy

European hornbeam

Carpinus betulus ‘Fastigiata’

Fern pine leaves are lanceolate and evergreen. Although 'pine' is part of its common name, it is not actually a pine and does not have needles. New growth is bright and almost chartreuse, while older leaves are a darker green color.

Fern pine

Afrocarpus falcatus

An incense cedar grows in front of a house; it is a tall evergreen conifer that somewhat resembles the shape of a redwood

Incense cedar

Calocedrus decurrens

An interior live oak growing near a roadside

Interior live oak

Quercus wislizeni

Japanese snowbell

Styrax japonicus

London plane

Platanus × acerifolia

Pomegranate

Punica granatum ‘Wonderful’

Red maple

Acer rubrum

Red tip photinia

Photinia × fraseri

Sawleaf zelkova

Zelkova serrata

Two shiny xylosmas flank a walkway, providing evergreen interest and a touch of whimsy with their twisted trunks

Shiny xylosma

Xylosma congestum

Acacia stenophylla - Shoestring acacia

Shoestring acacia

Acacia stenophylla

Bright orange fall leaves of the Shumard oak

Shumard oak

Quercus shumardii

Strawberry tree

Arbutus spp.

Clusters of creamy yellow bay laurel flowers bloom along twigs at the base of dark green leaves commonly used in cooking

Sweet bay laurel

Laurus nobilis

A front yard trident maple invites visitors with intriguing bark patterns and leaves shaped like duck feet

Trident maple

Acer buergerianum

Brilliant red fall color and a tall pyramidal shape are a couple reasons people love the tupelo

Tupelo

Nyssa sylvatica

Quercus lobata - valley oak

Valley oak

Quercus lobata

Beautiful twisting branches and gray-green foliage adorn a multitrunked fruitless Wilson olive growing in a front yard

Wilson olive

Olea europaea

Large, soft yellow flowers sit atop branches of the Yellow Bird magnolia

Yellow Bird magnolia

Magnolia × ‘Yellow Bird’