Create a place for memory.
A memorial tree gives remembrance a physical place — somewhere living, changing, and rooted in the world.
Memorial trees
Give a memory roots.
Plant a tree in memory or honor of someone whose life still matters to you. A living memorial gives remembrance a place in the present — something you can visit, care for, watch change, and see grow through the years.
The tree does not replace the person or the story. It simply gives that story a living place to continue.
Turn memory into stewardship.
Watering, protecting, and watching a young tree establish creates a simple act of care that continues beyond planting day.
Leave something growing.
Shade, habitat, beauty, and canopy can continue expanding long after the reason for planting first brought you there.
01 / Why a tree
Some memories deserve a living place.
Flowers fade. Objects stay still. A tree asks something different of us: time, care, patience, and attention.
A memorial tree does not try to make grief beautiful. It gives memory somewhere to keep existing in the present.
The tree changes with the seasons. It responds to weather. It needs water when it is young. It loses leaves, grows new ones, extends roots, creates shade, and becomes part of the place around it.
That living quality is what makes a tree different from a marker. The memorial is not frozen on the day it was planted. It keeps moving forward.
Over time, the reason for planting remains personal, while the tree's benefit begins to reach beyond that reason — to family, neighbors, wildlife, and whoever one day stands beneath its canopy.
Where it began
For Joey, the first memorial was personal.
When Dawne passed, Joey and the boys picked up shovels with a simple idea: plant something that would keep living.
There was no larger program behind it then. It was a family act — a way to honor someone they loved with something tangible, rooted, and alive.
That first act of remembrance became the beginning of something larger. Planting led to learning. Learning led to more trees. And one family's memorial became an invitation for other people to give their own memories roots.
The tree does not erase loss. It gives love somewhere to keep growing.
A living tribute
Memory looks backward. A tree keeps reaching forward.
Plant in their honor
02 / Make it personal
Choose the tree, place, and meaning together.
The memorial becomes more meaningful when the practical planting decisions support the story behind it.
Start with the person. Think about what you want the tree to represent — strength, shade, beauty, resilience, a favorite season, a family place, or simply the idea of leaving something alive behind.
Then look at the site. Sunlight, soil, drainage, mature size, overhead space, nearby structures, and utilities should determine what tree can actually thrive there.
The right memorial tree is not necessarily the most symbolic species. It is the tree whose meaning and biology both fit the place.
A memorial lasts because the tree survives. Good species selection, correct planting, and first-year care are part of honoring the reason it was planted.
From memory to planting
Four simple decisions.
You bring the reason. DIG helps turn it into a well-planted tree with a real chance to establish.
Choose who or what you are honoring.
Plant in memory of someone, in celebration of a life, or to mark a relationship, milestone, or meaningful place.
Select the right tree.
Match the species to the site, available space, growing conditions, and the meaning you want the memorial to carry.
Put the memorial in the ground.
Plant it yourself with guidance or choose crew support when you want help with installation.
Care for what comes next.
Follow first-year watering and establishment guidance so the memorial has the opportunity to become lasting canopy.
03 / Your memorial
There is more than one way to remember.
The tree can be deeply personal, shared by a family, or planted where an entire community benefits.
Plant at home. Create a private memorial where you can see the tree become part of everyday family life.
Plant together. Invite children, siblings, friends, or relatives to participate in the planting and care.
Plant for shared benefit. When the site and permissions allow, a memorial tree can become part of a school, neighborhood, park, faith community, or other shared space.
Plant in celebration too. A tribute tree does not have to begin with loss. Births, anniversaries, recoveries, retirements, friendships, and new beginnings can all be given roots.
Keep the memorial simple
The meaning is personal. The planting should be practical.
A successful memorial does not depend on ceremony or complexity. It depends on choosing a site where the tree can thrive, planting it correctly, and caring for it while roots establish.
DIG keeps the process grounded in those basics so the living part of the memorial receives as much attention as the symbolic part.
01
At home.
A personal memorial in a yard or family property where the tree becomes part of daily life.
02
With family.
A shared planting that gives children, relatives, or friends a tangible role in remembrance.
03
In community.
A tree planted in an approved shared space where its future shade and habitat benefit more people.
04
For a milestone.
A tribute tree for a birth, anniversary, friendship, recovery, retirement, or new beginning.
Give the memory roots.
Plant something that keeps living.
Choose a person. Choose a place. Choose a tree with room to grow — then give remembrance a living form that can keep reaching forward.
Do your part. Plant a tree. • plantsatree.com