WESTPORT–Plant lovers and garden enthusiasts, take your pick – witch hazel, blackgum or ninebark.

Those are the three young plants the Tree Board will distribute free this Friday, April 24, to all takers in an Arbor Day tradition. Pick up the plants in the parking lot behind Town Hall, 110 Myrtle Ave.

“We try and chose something different from the previous year and try to have at least one flowering option, which is always popular,” said Tree Board Chair Sarah Adair. 

This year, they chose two flowering shrubs – ninebark and witch hazel. Blackgum is a medium-sized tree. The plants are called tubelings because they are handed out in small plastic tubes.

Saplings of large trees distributed in the past have been less popular than flowering plants because of their size and the decades that it takes for them to grow completely, board members said.

Tree Board member Dick Stein said the give-away has been held each Arbor Day for at least 10 years. Participation in the event varies, but some people come back every year for a new plant, he said. Last year, they gave away almost all of the tubelings, about 100.

“We actually had a line of people coming to get their trees,” he said.

The witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) blooms in winter. Taken indoors, the blooms emit an intense, spicy fragrance. The world’s largest producer of witch hazel extracts is based in East Hampton, Connecticut, 20 miles southeast of Hartford – Photo Neptuul

The blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica) is happiest in wet soil.

The ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius) blooms in the spring and turns russet in the fall. It is known for being easy to grow.