Nebraska City, Neb. - Celebrate the holiday season with friends and loved ones this year and give back to the Earth at the same time with the help of the nonprofit Arbor Day Foundation.

Send holiday greetings and plant a tree - all at the same time - by using the Foundation's Give-A-Tree cards. Give-A-Tree cards are unique in that every card plants a tree in one of our National Forests in honor of the recipient. By sending Give-A-Tree cards, you are helping to replant forests that have been devastated by wildfires, insects and disease. Give-A-Tree holiday cards come in 20 varieties. This year, an option is available to customize Give-A-Tree cards, including using your favorite picture in a Give-A-Tree photo card.

When you give the gift of Arbor Day Specialty Coffee, you're helping to preserve the Earth's precious rain forests. Arbor Day Specialty Coffee is shade-grown under the canopy of Latin American rain forests. Unlike sun-grown coffee plantations, this traditional shade-grown method gives the coffee a delicious, rich flavor and helps preserve the rain forest as part of the Foundation's Rain Forest Rescue program.

The Foundation's Trees in Celebration program allows the giver to honor loved ones while at the same time making a positive impact on the environment. Trees in Celebration includes a certificate for the recipient, and for each dollar donated a tree is planted in a damaged forest.

Give special friends a membership to the Arbor Day Foundation, and they will also receive 10 free trees. A membership costs $10, and includes many great benefits, including 10 free trees that will be shipped at the right time of year for planting.

"The holidays are a time for thinking about others, and as you do, take a moment to think about what you can do to protect the beauty and splendor of the Earth," said John Rosenow, chief executive of the Arbor Day Foundation. "We encourage everyone to give gifts that will have a lasting impact on the world for generations to come."

To purchase holiday gifts that give back to the Earth, go to arborday.org.

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Nebraska City, Neb. (April 25, 2011) - Iowa's Arbor Day is nearly here, and the best way to observe the holiday is to plant trees. Arbor Day in Iowa will be celebrated on National Arbor Day, April 29.

Before you get started, you want to make sure you're planting the right tree in the right place. A tree serves many purposes. It is wise to first determine which functions are most important to you when selecting a new tree to plant.

The main functions of a tree are:

• Shade: Trees are an excellent source for cooling because not only do they block the rays of the sun, they add water to the air through transpiration. Plant where you want the shadow during the hottest time of the year.
• Beauty: Trees add color and can enhance your home depending on where it's planted.
• Windbreak: These are most effective when you plant trees in a dense, step-like arrangement of both conifers and deciduous trees.
• Boundaries: Trees can help delineate your property.

Once you determine the tree's function, you need to pick the best spot to plant it. To help ensure that you plant the right tree in the right place, there are a few things to consider:

• Short flowering trees are ideal planted under power lines. These trees will not clash with the lines and will add color and beauty to your yard. Some examples of short flowering trees are redbuds, dogwoods and crabapples.
• Large deciduous trees are best used to shade your home and yard. These trees should be planted on the southeast, southwest and west side of your home to provide cooling shade in the summer and won't obstruct the low winter sun. Examples of large shade trees are maples, oaks, spruce and many pine species.
• To slow strong winter winds, many people use evergreen trees, but large deciduous trees work well, too. Windbreaks should be planted on the north side of your home, a fair distance from the nearest structure. Spruce, firs and pine trees make fine windbreaks.

Before you plant, you should also discover which trees grow best in Iowa. To do so, consult the Arbor Day Foundation's Hardiness Zone Map at www.arborday.org/treeinfo, or contact a local nursery or arborist.

Once you've determined the function of your tree and which species you'd like, you're ready to plant. You must take special care of your tree during planting time to ensure that it will grow healthy and strong.

When planting a containerized tree, there are six steps you need to take.

1. Call before you dig. Call the 811 hotline to have underground utilities located.
2. Handle your tree with care. Always lift it up by its root ball and keep its roots moist until you plant it.
3. Dig the proper hole. Dig 2 to 5 times wider than the diameter of the root ball with sloping sides.
4. Dig to the proper depth. The trunk flare of your tree should sit slightly above ground level.
5. Back fill the hole with native soil. That is, unless the soil is all clay. Tamp soil gently to fill large air spaces.
6. Mulch your new tree. Add 2-3 inches of mulch around the planting area but keep it 1-2 inches away from the trunk.

Planting instructions for bare-root trees and ball and burlap trees can be found at http://www.arborday.org/trees/tips/treePlanting.cfm.

Americans have been planting trees on Arbor Day since 1872. Nebraska City, Neb., resident, civic leader and agriculturist J. Sterling Morton urged Nebraskans to "set aside one day to plant trees, both forest and fruit." The tree-planting holiday was so popular that by 1920, more than 45 states and U.S. territories annually celebrated Arbor Day. Today, the tree-planters' holiday is observed in all 50 states and in many countries around the world.

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