The results are in! On Saturday, April 20, community members joined the celebratory planting of Whitby’s first official tree – the tulip tree. This winning tree was chosen based on the results of a recent Connect Whitby survey that saw more than 200 people take part. 

The tulip tree is found only in the southernmost parts of Ontario – including right here in Whitby! The tulip tree gets its name from its broad leaves and beautiful, fragrant flowers shaped like tulips. Unlike most other hardwood trees, it is fast-growing, can live up to 300 years, and grow to 50 metres tall. Tulip tree flowers attract bees, hummingbirds, and tiger swallowtail butterflies whose larvae feed on their leaves. Indigenous peoples used the tree’s bark and flowers as medicine and its strong, termite-resistant wood provided material for homes, furniture, and barns for Whitby’s early settlers.

See if your yard has the right conditions for your own tulip tree to plant through, Local Enhancement & Appreciation of Forests (LEAF) subsidized backyard tree planting program which helps to protect and improve our urban forest.

Happy Earth Day!

Learn more, at connectwhitby.ca/OfficialTree