Homeowners are snapping up everything from Ohio buckeyes and pin oaks to Korean maples and Honeycrisp apple trees in several west metro communities that offer spring tree sales.
The rush in Minneapolis recently crashed a website six minutes after it opened to take orders online. Other cities such as Plymouth, Bloomington and Minnetonka say their supplies usually sell out quickly every year.
"We were overwhelmed. We've never really had any kind of response like we've seen this year," said Karen Zumach, community forestry organizer for Tree Trust, a nonprofit that administers programs for Minneapolis and St. Louis Park.
Even with the website troubles, Minneapolis sold 1,300 trees in two days and has a waiting list of 400 people. The city offered 16 different species of trees at $25 each, available one per household to city residents.
Those who purchased the trees will be able to pick them up at the city impound lot in mid-May.
Zumach attributes the unusual demand to social media, which spread the news that trees were available at a low cost, and to a greater desire by people to replace trees that have been damaged in storms, or might be vulnerable to diseases such as oak wilt or pests like the emerald ash borer.
The trees, sold in containers with soil, are high-quality and good-sized, Zumach said: 4 to 6 feet high, and about an inch in diameter.
"It's $25 for a tree that in a garden center would typically run $75 to $150, depending on the species," she said. The trees are purchased at a discount from several major nurseries in the area, she said, with subsidies from the city of Minneapolis.