What to Know Before Purchasing a Memorial Tree

Planting a memorial tree, or Living Urn, for a departed beloved is a loving way to remember their life and grieve their loss. It’s essential to, as they say, get your ducks in a row before planting a memorial tree. The Living Urn’s BioUrn for growing a memorial tree sets you up for success with its patented system. And, there are a few more things you can do on your end to ensure the successful growth of your memorial tree. Please keep reading for more on how to buy a memorial tree. 

How to Buy a Memorial Tree

Here are a few simple steps for how to buy a memorial tree.

• Look up your area’s growing zone. You can use this easy tool from the Living Urn and simply enter your zip code to discover trees that grow well in your area. Or simply google “growing zone” and your city or town. This is the most important part of choosing a memorial tree; it must be a tree that grows well in your area, otherwise, there’s a good chance it won’t thrive, or even survive.

• Consider what kind of tree you want. There are evergreen trees, fruit trees, flowering trees, nut trees, and shade trees. Fruit trees encourage group gatherings to pick and process their fruits, but they live shorter lives than hardwoods like oak or pecan. Nut trees attract wildlife like birds and squirrels and also offer a food harvest to gather. Flowering trees soothe the heart and soul with their beauty and scent and attract pollinators like our precious bees. Evergreen trees are also heavenly scented, beautiful trees that symbolize life even in the coldest of times.

• Pick the right place to plant your memorial tree. Or, pick the right tree for the place you have. Different trees have different sunlight requirements; if your spot lacks sunlight, make sure you pick a shade-tolerant tree. Or, if the space for your memorial tree is small, or close to a house or wall, choose a tree with a narrow width. Be sure to look at the growth measurements for your tree when it’s fully grown to ensure you choose a good spot for it to grow. If you want to use the tree for shade in the summer or insulation in the winter, be sure to do research on how to position your memorial tree. 

Where to Buy a Memorial Tree

Choosing a quality nursery from which to purchase your memorial tree is an essential step for growing a healthy memorial tree. Here at The Living Urn, we have our own nursery to ensure that each tree we send off is healthy, strong, and ready to become a full-grown tree. We also know that our customers may have their own favorite local nursery where they wish to purchase their memorial tree, which is why we offer our BioUrn planting system without a tree. This allows you to work with a nursery that you may already have a relationship with and also lets you avoid waiting for our tree to ship. Make sure you choose a healthy-looking young tree; we recommend avoiding saplings since they have a lower success rate. Be sure to ask the nursery employees any questions you might have about caring for your young tree, like how much to water it once it’s planted. 

When to Buy a Memorial Tree

As Needed

You can purchase a memorial tree after a loved one has passed. This is a very common choice for many people. And there’s no rush or time frame either; whenever you and any family and friends are ready is the right time to purchase and plant a memorial tree. It is very common for families to purchase The Living Urn and keep the ashes in the urn in a safe place and wait until the weather is right, or for when everyone can be together to plant their loved one’s memorial tree.

Family Program

The Family Program allows you to purchase multiple Living Urn systems so that more than one memorial tree can be planted. If your family or group of loved ones wants to divide up the ashes of your departed beloved and grow multiple memorial trees, then this is the option for you. You can choose as many Living Urns as you want; just be sure to choose trees appropriate for each individual area. 

Pre-Planning Options

If you’d like to plan ahead, the Living Urn offers its Pre-Planning program. This allows you to purchase a Living Urn system and a voucher for a memorial tree when the time comes for its use. There are easy-to-follow instructions for using the voucher to purchase a memorial tree. This is an excellent way to ensure that your wish to become a tree is honored, and it will make the process easier for your family and friends.

Seasonal Considerations

As a general rule of thumb, as long as the ground is not frozen where you live, you can still plant a tree! In fact, many consider the Fall season one of the best times of year to plant trees! To learn more about why this is, click here.

Plant a Memorial Tree the Right Way

When planting a memorial tree with some or all of your loved one's ashes it's important to use a special system designed for this purpose, such as The Living Urn. This patented system includes a special planting urn that breaks down quickly below ground after its planted and RootProtect, a proprietary soil additive that helps neautralize the ashes in the soil environment. Without this, there is increased risk of having the ashes negatively impact the health and growth of the memorial tree.