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Apex, North Carolina · Trees

748 free trees, one yard at a time

Since 2021, Apex's Plant the Peak program has put native trees in neighbors' yards at no cost. Explore where they went, meet the 14 species on this year's list, and see if your yard qualifies.

Peak News Network
Tall hardwoods and a mulch path in the woods at Apex Nature Park in spring
Apex Nature Park. Photo: ncwetlands.org / Wikimedia Commons (public domain)

Apex is a designated Tree City USA community, and Plant the Peak is one of the ways it grows its tree canopy. The Town pays 100% of the cost of one native tree and professional installation per single-family property inside town limits, at no cost to the owner or tenant.

Every tree is chosen by a resident, placed by Town arborists, and recorded on the Town's planting map. Here is what that map shows, and how to get a tree of your own.

748trees on the Town's Plant the Peak planting map, 2021–2025
234trees offered for the 2026 season, first come, first served
14native species to choose from
$0cost to the homeowner for the tree and installation

The map

Where the trees went

Drag the slider to watch the program grow year by year. Each dot is one tree on the Town's planting layer, shown at neighborhood scale (locations rounded, no addresses).

2021–2025748 trees

Trees planted each year

2021
100
2022
128
2023
100
2024
187
2025
233
2026 (offered)
234

Counts by planting year from the Town's Plant the Peak ArcGIS layer (748 points). The Town's program page describes the total as "over 500 trees"; 2026 figure is trees offered, from the Town's program page.

Town of Apex, Plant the Peak page (captured Oct. 4, 2026)apexnc.org/1081 ↗

Field guide

Pick your tree

All 14 trees on the 2026 list, drawn to their typical mature height next to a two-story house. Filter by what your yard needs, then tap a tree for details.

Plant the Peak 2026 Tree List (Town of Apex)Species list (PDF) ↗

Quick check

Does your yard qualify?

Based on the Town's program page and the 2026 application form.

Check the boxes that apply.

The season

From application to planting

  1. 1

    Starting September 1, 2026

    Apply

    Applications open for 234 trees and are processed first come, first served, while trees last.

  2. 2

    Saturday, October 17 · 9 a.m. to noon

    Arbor Day at Pleasant Park

    The Town's Arbor Day celebration at the Forest Shelter: volunteers replace three trees, plant a commemorative Arbor Day tree, remulch trees across the park, and meet local environmental groups.

    Town of Apex, Arbor Day pageapexnc.org/2152 ↗
  3. 3

    November and December

    Arborists mark the spot

    Apex Electric Department arborists visit and mark each planting location.

  4. 4

    Starting January 2027

    Planting

    Professionals plant the trees. Your job: water it and watch it grow.

On the Council

Keeping trees on the agenda

Plant the Peak is run by Town staff in the Apex Electric Department. On the Town Council, Mayor Pro Tem Terry Mahaffey chairs the Environmental Leadership Committee and serves as the Council's liaison to the Environmental Advisory Board, according to the Town's committee page.

Apply at apexnc.org/1081 while trees last.

Sources & detailsEvery fact with its source, the planting data and the complete list of documents behind this story.

Info current as of October 4, 2026. Tree availability changes daily; check the Town's page before applying.

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