Free shade trees program and workshop

Attend an upcoming Shade Tree workshop

SRP customers can get two free desert-friendly, fast-growing trees by attending a workshop. Hosted by Trees Matter, the workshop covers how to select, plant and care for your trees. After attending, you can claim your two new tree saplings.

Date	Time	Location	TYPE OF WORKSHOP
Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025	12 pm	Zoom	Webinar
Saturday, Feb. 1, 2024	10 am	Zoom	Webinar
Saturday, Feb. 15, 2024	10 am	Zoom	Webinar

Register

A palo verde tree provides shade for a yard

Carefully positioned trees can save up to 25% of the energy a typical household uses.*

*Source: Energy-Efficient Landscaping | Department of Energy

Types of available trees

The SRP Shade Tree Program™ currently offers six different types of desert-adapted trees that are tolerant of drought and sun. New trees will be approximately 2- to 6-foot saplings.

Native Mesquite

Dense canopy of ferny green foliage, has yellow flowers and thorns. Mature size is 30’ tall x 30’ wide.

Palo Verde

Gray-green trunk, branches and leaves, has yellow blossoms in spring and thorns. Mature size is 30’ tall.

Lilac Chaste

Moderate-growing deciduous shrub/tree. Has purple spike flowers spring through summer, no thorns. Mature size can reach 20’ tall x 20’ wide.

Thornless Mesquite 

Green foliage; wind-tolerant. Keep away from pools. Plant in groupings for best results. Mature size is 30’ tall x 30’ wide.

Desert Willow

Long, narrow bright green leaves; willowy appearance with large, fragrant trumpet-shaped flowers ranging from white to purple to pink. Mature size is 25’ tall x 20’ wide. No thorns.

Willow Acacia 

Narrow green leaves; willowy appearance; ideal around water features  with fragrant yellow puffball-like flowers. Mature size is 40’ tall x 20’ wide. No thorns.

Desert tree planting guide

As your tree grows

Mulch: Mulch is organic material that allows water to penetrate through and shades the soil beneath, protecting your tree from drying out too fast. Leaves from your yard can be used or you can purchase mulch or wood chips at a garden store

Feeder Roots: Remember to deep water the feeder roots all the way around your tree. As the tree grows, the feeder roots reach out to the drip line. This is the area that needs to be watered to keep your tree growing.

Original Hole: Notice that the feeder roots have grown away from the original hole. Putting water here will have no benefit to your tree now.

Planting Hole: Make your hole only as deep as your tree's root ball. Fill the hole with the dirt from the hole making sure the base of the trunk is level with the ground surface. Leave room for several inches of mulch.

Source: “Neighborhood Forests Southwest Learning Guide"

Before you dig, contact Arizona 811 to locate underground utility lines.  

Program requirements

To participate in this program, you must:

Be a current residential SRP electric customer
Attend a Shade Tree workshop
Have the legal right to plant trees on your property
Plant trees on the south, west or east sides of your home
Plant trees approximately 15-20 feet from exposed exterior walls and windows
Be able to care for the tree, as needed
Have not previously received trees for your property from the SRP Shade Tree Program

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Meet our community partner, Trees Matter

For ten years we've partnered with Trees Matter, a Phoenix-based environmental education nonprofit that helps us run our Shade Tree workshops and distribute free desert-adapted shade trees to SRP customers who attend.

Trees Matter is an integral part of our customers’ experience and the partnership helps us reach a variety of communities. Working together, we distribute more than 5,000 trees and educate more than 4,000 Valley residents each year.

The organization also educates the public on tree knowledge, distributes desert-adapted shade trees to residents across the Valley, and plants trees on school campuses and within communities in need.

Together we’re making the Valley a shadier place, one tree at a time.

Get free mulch to help your tree thrive

Thanks to our partnership with organic gardening company GRO-WELL, we’re able to turn leftover tree trimmings into mulch that we provide to customers for free at Shade Tree pickup events (limited supply).

Mulch can be placed above soil around your shade tree to help with water retention.  

It’s all part of a closed-loop recycling process — our crew trims trees that are growing into or near power lines, then GRO-WELL turns the tree debris into mulch that we give to workshop attendees for free. The process helps us keep waste out of landfills, one of the main pillars of our 2035 goals.

SRP reserves the right to change or terminate this program without prior notice. 

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Free trees to shade your home

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Attend an upcoming Shade Tree workshop