February 20, 2008 > Celebrate Arbor Day with your own crapemyrtle tree Celebrate Arbor Day with your own crapemyrtle tree By Bosky Panjvani A colorful crapemyrtle tree can help you celebrate Arbor Day this year. These vibrantly leafy trees are now available through the Arbor Day Foundation for a $10 membership subscription. The foundation is planning to give five free crapemyrtle trees, whose foliage changes color each season, to California residents who apply for membership by Friday, April 25. Each tree is guaranteed to grow or it will be replaced free of charge. Foundation members will also receive a bi-monthly publication, "Arbor Day," and the "Tree Book," which includes tree planting and care information. Mark Derowitsch, public relations manager at Arbor Day Foundation, said that the Arbor Day Foundation chose crapemyrtles since these trees grow well in the California climate. Arbor Day Foundation Chief Executive John Rosenow noted that they were also selected for their elegance and colorful accents. Arbor Day was first celebrated on April 10, 1872 in Nebraska by John Sterling Morton, a tree loving journalist. The day was legally proclaimed in 1874 by the then Governor Robert Furnas. Other states followed Nebraska in making Arbor Day a tradition in the 1870s and it was observed in schools by 1882. Since then, Arbor Day has been a regular celebration by tree lovers throughout the United States, and is now celebrated throughout the world. Although Arbor Day is a national celebration on the last Friday of April every year, many states observe Arbor Day on different dates, from January and February in the south to May in the far north, whenever it is best suited. California celebrates Arbor Day from March 7 - 14. To receive five crapemyrtle trees, send a check for $10 to: Five Crapemyrtles Arbor Day Foundation, 100 Arbor Ave., Nebraska, NE 68410