The Chicago Region Trees Initiative, a program of The Morton Arboretum, will accept sealed bids for tree production and delivery on a 5-year timeframe.

Term 1: 2-year contracts for 7–10 gallon container trees

The Arboretum will accept sealed bids for Term 1 for the production of up to 2,200, 7–10 gallon sized container-grown or containerized trees with delivery in 2 years (2027). Multiple vendors may be selected to achieve the total number of trees required.

The Term 1 bid request will only be for 7–10 gallon containerized trees. (Bids for 15 gallon containerized trees will be announced in Term 2, later in 2025).

Bid documents and submission deadlines will be announced soon. Check back for updates in the coming weeks.

Tree Quantity Minimum: When submitting, bidders are recommended to submit bids to grow at least 500 7–10 gallon containerized trees. Bidders will be able to submit bids for the full 2,200 7–10 gallon containerized tree quantity, but to ensure genetic diversity, multiple bidders will likely take portions of the total quantity and support the program objectives.

Free bid preparation assistance will be available. Please direct questions about contract growing to Kate Perryman, CRTI stewardship specialist, at kperryman@mortonarb.org.

Funding for this project is provided by the Inflation Reduction Act and the USDA Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry Program in partnership with The Morton Arboretum’s Chicago Region Trees Initiative. The USDA and The Morton Arboretum are equal opportunity providers and employers.