When is National Arbor Day in 2021? It will be April 30, 2021. Did you know that there is a national tree for the United States — but it’s not a specific tree but is the family of oaks, known as Quercus.

This is a leaf from a Red Oak tree.

But there are many different varieties of oaks that grow abundantly in our nation. Among them are the: White Oak, Black Oak, Willow Oak, and an evergreen oak too – the Live Oak.

Oaks provide a great amount of shade, and their signature similarity is that they bear acorns!

Red Oak acorns

The Red Oak can be found to grow in hardiness zones 3-8. It is the state tree of New Jersey and Iowa.

Be sure to look up and all around at the wonderful trees that surround you today!

Dogwood blossom (white, also appear in pink)

The Second Friday in April is Virginia’s Arbor Day!

And its home state tree is the Flowering Dogwood. These leaves unfold a bit after the tree blossoms with its well-known 4 bract flowers. They are conspicuous (that is, showy) and herald the incoming of warmer spring weather. The leaves are somewhat egg-shaped and have deep veining. The tree is not as showy in the fall – the spring blossoms far outshine the fall coloring which is of a yellowish or purplish-brown.

Dogwood leaf in spring.

The bark is chunky and mosaic-like on this understory tree. Also the state tree of Missouri, it’s a pretty tree and is often used as an ornamental. Look for this tree in hardiness zones 5-9.

Sugar Maple leaf.

The Second Friday in April is West Virginia’s State Arbor Day!

And its home state tree is the Sugar Maple. These leaves emerge as a bright spring green and mature to a darker green during the summer months. It has keys as seed/fruit that are like helicopter blades. It’s well known for the sap that gets tapped from it and is sold as maple syrup.

Three other states have this as their home tree: New York, Vermont, and Wisconsin.

It’s a great tree and hopefully, you’ll get to see one or more in your area. It is found in hardiness zones 3-8.

The winged fruit of a sugar maple tree