Tree Pittsburgh’s Heritage Nursery

Tree Pittsburgh’s mission is to protect and restore Pittsburgh’s urban forest through community tree planting and care, education, and advocacy. Our vision is to be a leader in creating a healthy urban forest by inspiring and engaging citizens to maintain, plant and protect trees. Taking care of our trees will improve our quality of life by maximizing the substantial public health, environmental, and economic benefits that trees provide.

Growing Trees for Healthy Forests

When Pittsburgh was first settled, the region boasted abundant and diverse forests, thriving with rich ecological communities and services. But after nearly two centuries of industrialization, mining, and more recently urban sprawl, much of our region’s natural landscape has been left fragmented and unhealthy.

Tree Pittsburgh’s Heritage Nursery seeks to revitalize local forests, and the important services they provide, by growing a diverse range of native and heritage trees for planting efforts. Our seeds are collected from “mother trees” that have proved both hardy in our local climates and resilient in modern conditions. Our nursery stock is curated with pride to withstand vegetative competition and thrive after planting, even in the toughest conditions.

Why Heritage Trees?

Heritage trees are trees of exceptional value that have endured our region’s harshest climate and environmental changes. These trees, which still thrive in old age, have resisted weather extremes, soil changes, and pollution over decades, making them ideal candidates for seed collection.

Who Buys Our Trees?

We partner with local environmental groups, contractors, designers and individuals to provide locally adapted trees for planting projects. For specialized restoration projects, plants can be grown from the same eco-region of the destination planting. We also partner with local nurseries and garden centers to provide native plants for retail sales. Contact us for help growing or selecting the perfect plant palette for your unique project: nursery@treepittsburgh.org.

Heritage Nursery and Tree Pittsburgh

The Heritage Nursery supports Tree Pittsburgh’s overall mission to create a healthy urban forest in the City of Pittsburgh by maintaining, planting and protecting trees, and is the only full-scale tree nursery of its kind in the Pittsburgh region, growing more than 80 tree species for local planting and ecosystem restoration efforts.

Our Site

Our nursery sits on a former brownfield in the Lawrenceville neighborhood of Pittsburgh. Nestled along the Allegheny River, it operates with a minimal footprint, using solar technologies for power needs and river water for irrigation. To encourage beneficial insects, birds and flourishing soil biology, we utilize integrated pest management strategies and organic control methods to keep our plants healthy and vigorous.

ty of limited parking to encourage more public use of this township asset.

Spring Garden, Philadelphia PA

Converted from an abandoned lot in 1995,  we started breaking ground and literally picking out the rubble from recently razed housing.  We were fortunate to receive help from our Councilman, Darrell Clarke, who helped us to remove the rubble and who provided a layer of topsoil the first season.

By the second season, we had received a nice grant from Philadelphia Green and were able to purchase soil, materials and wood to build the raised beds on the property.

The Spring Gardens Community Gardens are currently managed by a volunteer Steering Committee of neighborhood gardeners. The Steering Committee, which meets monthly, oversees planning, project implementation, fundraising, and policy making. All gardeners contribute to the Gardens’ maintenance, including general weeding, planting, mowing, and carpentry. Membership meetings, garden events, and dinners occur regularly. Additional Operational Committees contribute much of the ongoing design, maintenance, volunteer coordination, and other activities necessary to ensure a smooth operation of the community resource.

The landscape of this community space enhances the area with its plentiful trees, bamboo grove, and large open space for picnics and gatherings. Because of its beauty, the Gardens routinely earn recognition from the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s City Gardens Contest. PHS also supports The Spring Gardens through its urban greening initiative, Philadelphia Green. Local elected leaders, restaurants, and other businesses, also strongly endorse the garden.