Canopy Connectors: Connecting Trees and People

Forty-nine fruit and shade trees will be planted in Unity’s gravel bed in May and will be cared for through the summer. Volunteers will be needed throughout the season to distribute flyers and conduct site visits, and in the fall to transplant the trees. Please join us! Contact Lisa Burke at [email protected] for more information. 

For the sixth year Unity Church-Unitarian’s Canopy Connectors are offering trees, for free, to residents of the Summit-University-Rondo area. Priority will be given to those living in neighborhoods with lower tree canopy. The adopted trees will be planted on private property. 

We will assist those adopting our trees every step of the way, from helping you select the right spot for your tree and arranging for utility lines to be marked to planting your tree in the fall. ​

Those interested in planting a tree on the boulevard should contact the city.

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Our 2026 Trees 

MINNESOTA STRAIN REDBUD

This smaller statured understory tree, developed at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, is typical of eastern and southern climes and has been bred to be cold hardy to Zone 4. Beautiful clusters of rose-pink to magenta pea-like flowers emerge along its branches in May and form small seed pods in the summer. It prefers well-drained soil and is tolerant of urban conditions but doesn’t like salt.  
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Mature Height: 25' 
Mature Spread: 30’ 
Shape: Vase-like with umbrella canopy 
Exposure: Partial to Full Sun 
Zone: 4-7 

PURPLE PRINCE CRABAPPLE

Purple Prince has purple-bronze foliage, outstanding early blooming mauve-red blossoms, and maroon fruits that persist into winter providing food for hungry birds. It is a fast-growing variety that resists stem splitting and matures quickly. Excellent resistance to scab, fire blight, and cedar-apple rust.  
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Height: 20' 
Spread: 20' 
Shape: Rounded 
Exposure: Full Sun 
Zone: 4-7 

TAWARA ASIAN PEAR

A small-statured pear tree with white blossoms in spring and glossy, dark green leaves throughout the summer. The dark tan fruit is delicious eaten fresh or canned and tastes like a cross between an apple and a pear. Self-pollinating, but will produce more fruit if near another pear variety. Will cross pollinate with European pear varieties Seckel, Bosc, and Bartlett.
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Mature Height: 15-18’ 
Mature Spread: 8-12' 
Shape: Upright 
Exposure: Full Sun 
Zone: 4-8 

PAPER BIRCH

This medium-sized popular shade tree is native to Minnesota, and the tree that readily comes to mind when people think of a birch. Bronze colored bark in young trees becomes bright white as it ages, creating year-round visual interest. Paper birch likes well-drained soil and is tolerant of road salt. It is a great resource for many bird species, pollinating insects and small mammals, both as food and shelter.  
 
Mature Height: 50-70’ 
Mature Spread: 25-50’ 
Shape: Open crown 
Exposure: Part Shade to Full Sun 
Zone: 2-6 

AUTUMN BRILLIANCE SERVICEBERRY

This popular tree offers white blossoms in spring, followed by sweet purplish-black edible fruit over a long harvest period. Berries are delicious fresh, jarred, or frozen (no pitting or peeling required). Heavily branched, the tree has an interesting spreading pattern and attractive light gray bark with brilliant red orange fall leaves. As serviceberry is a native tree species, the clusters of white flowers are particularly important to local pollinators. 
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Mature Height: 20-25' 
Mature Spread: 15' 
Shape: Rounded 
Exposure: Full Sun 
Zone: 3-8 

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