The City of St. Louis Park has a new tree care program that provides assistance to income-qualified residential property owners to help preserve, remove and/or re-establish tree canopy on private property. Tree care can include tree consultations, ash tree removal, ash tree injections, tree planting and tree pruning.

Visit the Shade SLP Plus page for more information.

Trees are very important to our urban environment, providing benefits such as stormwater mitigation, filtering our air, increasing oxygen, shading our city (keeping our energy costs down) and increasing property values. With the onslaught of invasive species, such as Dutch elm disease and emerald ash borer, it is vital that our urban forest be replenished and diverse. You can help by doing your part. Plant a tree!

• Recommended trees for St. Louis Park
• Choosing the right tree or shrub for your area

If a diseased or dying tree is removed from private property, the homeowner may buy a replacement tree at subsidized rates through St. Louis Park's annual tree sale.

View the tree planting page to learn about general tree planting information, recommended trees to plant in St. Louis Park and planting programs available to residents and commercial properties.

The city hosts an annual tree sale in the spring where residents can purchase trees for their property at a reduced cost. Residents are responsible for picking up and planting their trees with this option.

The city also offers a full-service tree sale for those who would like assistance with transporting and planting reduced-cost trees on their property.

Visit the tree planting page for more information on both sale options.

The city has developed a public tree mapping tool that allows you to see what species of tree is in your boulevard or next to your favorite park bench. You can type in the address, click on the my location icon on the left or zoom into the location you want to search. Then, click on the tree icons to find out what tree species are in that area.

View the public tree map.

You can help your trees grow and flourish by:

Watering your trees

Watering your trees, even mature ones, during prolonged dry periods. The best way to water small trees is to let a hose run very slowly at the base of the tree for about an hour. For trees larger than 6 inches in diameter, water under the outer edges of the branches for one hour with the hose open-ended at a trickle speed.

Prune and trim during winter months

Saving routine pruning and trimming for dormant winter months when contractors will give you better rates. Don't trim elms, oaks and honey locusts in the spring or summer. Trimming between mid-April and mid-August greatly increases their disease susceptibility.

List of licensed tree care contractors in St. Louis Park (updated 10.30.24).

Avoid damaging the base of trees

Be careful to avoid damaging the base of the tree, which can often occur from lawn care equipment (e.g., mowers, weed whips, etc.).

Mulch around the base of your trees

Trees of all size benefit from a circle of mulch around that base that is about 2 – 4 inches deep. A good rule of thumb is the place mulch in a circle that is the same width and as the tree canopy (the drip line). Be sure to pull the mulch away from the base of the trunk.

Add native plantings underneath your trees

Add native plantings underneath your trees to provide critical habitat and shelter for overwintering moths, butterflies and other beneficial insects. The plants draw in native pollinators while the leaf litter and plant debris protect the insects in various stages of their life cycle. As an added bonus, mowers and weed whips are not needed close to the base of the tree, eliminating the risk of damage.

Contact the city's natural resources manager with questions or concerns about your trees at 952.924.2562 or naturalresources@stlouisparkmn.gov.

Trees with diseases, downed trees that have disease symptoms and trees with infestations of insects such as the emerald ash borer, must be removed from boulevards and private property so they don't spread the disease to nearby healthy trees.

City staff will mark trees to be removed with orange paint.

Trees on the boulevard or public right of way

If the marked tree is on the boulevard or public right of way, the city will pay the entire cost of the tree and stump removal. The city will arrange for a contractor to remove the tree.

Trees on private property

If the marked tree is on private property, the homeowner is responsible for 100% of the removal and disposal cost. The city will arrange for a contractor to remove the tree. Contractors selected by the city have met licensing requirements and have submitted competitive bids for tree removal and disposal. Property owners are free to reject the city contractor's bid and hire their own contractor to remove a tree from private property.

Discounted treatment rates available for ash trees

In mid-June 2019, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture confirmed the presence of emerald ash borer (EAB) in St. Louis Park.

A citywide discount will be offered through 2024 to St. Louis Park homeowners to treat privately owned ash trees. The discount provides homeowners with an affordable option for managing their ash trees for long-term protection.

Learn more about the emerald ash borer and the discounted treatment program.

How to protect your trees from diseases and infestations

Visit the tree treatment and removal page for information about how to protect your trees from Dutch elm disease, oak wilt disease, bur oak blight and the emerald ash borer.

A cost-share reimbursement is available to apply to the cost of injecting an elm or oak tree with a preventative fungicide. To request reimbursement, visit the tree treatment and removal page. For questions or concerns about tree injections, contact the natural resources division at 952.924.2562 or naturalresources@stlouisparkmn.gov.

To request a free inspection of trees on your property, call 952.924.2562 or email naturalresources@stlouisparkmn.gov.

By city ordinance, businesses providing tree services within city limits must be licensed with the City of St. Louis Park.

View a list of licensed tree care contractors (updated 10.30.24).

The city often seeks out grants to help support and improve the services we provide to residents and the city as a whole.

Below is a list of the current grants the city has to assist with tree care and management.

ReLeaf Community Forestry Grant

The 2023 ReLeaf Community Forest Grant is funding the Shade SLP Plus program, providing ash tree management support to residential private property owners who have a household income below 80% area median income (adjusted for household size). Services supported are emerald ash borer (EAB) infested ash tree removal, chemical injection treatments for EAB prevention, young tree developmental pruning, tree planting and on-site tree consultation.

• Funding organization: Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
• Maximum duration: 2023 – 2027

Community Forest Bonding Grant

This grant funds the removal and replacement of 468 ash trees on city right of way that are not part of the city’s preventative treatment program and that will succumb to the emerald ash borer beetle.

• Funding organization: Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
• Maximum duration: 2023 – 2027

Protect Community Forests by Managing Ash for EAB Grant

These grant funds support chemical injections for the prevention of emerald ash borer in ash trees located in and around the environmental justice area in St. Louis Park (defined by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency in 2021).

• Funding organization: Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
• Maximum duration: 2022 – 2025

Shade Tree Program Bonding Grant

These grant funds support the planting of 165 trees in city boulevards in and around the environmental justice area in St. Louis Park (defined by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency in 2021).

• Funding organization: Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
• Maximum duration: 2022 – 2024