Gather your thoughts ahead of time for successful shopping.

Think about the places in your yard where you might want to add plants.

For each of those places, think about the conditions: How much daily sun does it get in the summer?

What is the soil like? How much space is there?

Remember what has worked and not worked in the places you are shopping for.

Think about kinds of plants to look for that would suit your conditions.

Get a cardboard box when you enter. A volunteer will give you a colored sticker and write your number on the box.

Fill the box with plants.

Still shopping? Take your box to the table at the side of the room. Volunteers will give you another box and park your full box until you are ready to check out.

Need help carrying a box? Ask for a volunteer to help.

To check out, choose the checkout line corresponding to the color of your sticker.

After you check out, volunteers will be happy to help you get your plants to your car.

Plants are arranged in categories, such as Trees or Shade Perennials. Overhead signs show the location of each category.

Within each category, the plants are arranged alphabetically by their botanical names (for example, echinacea rather than coneflower).

For each plant, pots are arranged around a sign that gives pictures and information.

If there are no pots by a sign, it means that more plants of that kind are being brought from the growing facility. It is some distance away, so it may take 20 minutes to half an hour for the pots to arrive.

All the plants that are for sale have signs. If there is no sign for a plant, it is not available. Plants that were available in previous years may not be included in this year’s sale.

There will be an emergence of 17-year periodical cicadas in the Chicago region in mid-May 2024. You can still buy trees, but plan to protect them against cicadas that might try to lay eggs in their slender twigs.

Be prepared to plant your trees as soon as possible after the sale. Cover them with fine-mesh netting to protect them from egg-laying cicadas before the insects emerge in the middle of May. If you are not able to plant your trees before mid-May, cover them in netting in their pots and keep them outside, regularly watered, until the cicadas have subsided in four to six weeks.

Appropriate netting will be available for purchase at the sale while supplies last.

Learn more about the cicadas.

Plant Geniuses wear vivid yellow T-shirts. They are Arboretum experts who are happy to help you shop successfully.

Need help deciding on a plant? Have a problem you need a plant to solve? Not sure what the terms on the signs mean? Ask a Plant Genius.

The more you can tell Plant Geniuses about the conditions in your yard, the better help they can give you.

At the Arbor Day Plant Sale, plants for sale are arranged around a sign that identifies the kind of plant and gives important information about it. Use the sign to decide if the plant is right for your garden.

Follow this icon key to understand the plant identification sign.

Take your plants home and keep them in a cool, sheltered, shady spot. Don’t leave them out in full sun.

Water them well and water them daily while you prepare to plant them.

Trees, shrubs, and vines can be planted right away.

Perennials and herbs can be planted when nighttime temperatures are consistently above 50 degrees.

Tender vegetables, such as tomatoes and peppers, should not be planted until the risk of nighttime frosts is past, usually in mid-May. In the meantime, keep them in a sheltered place and cover them at night if cold temperatures are expected.

For trees and shrubs, follow this planting advice.

For perennials, dig a generous hole. Place the plant at the same soil level as it was in the pot. Refill the hole and gently firm the soil around the root. Water well and mulch over the root zone.

Do not fertilize trees, shrubs, vines, or perennials for the first year; there is slow-release fertilizer in the pot.

Vegetables and herbs, which are grown as annuals, will need fertilizer throughout the growing season. The Arboretum recommends slow-release fertilizer at planting.

All plants will need supplemental watering until their root systems are well established. For trees, that may mean supplemental watering for two to three years.

All plants benefit from a layer of natural mulch over their roots. For trees, make a wide, even layer 3 to 4 inches deep. For perennials and vegetables, make a layer about 1 to 2 inches deep.

Plant Geniuses can give you information on how to care for a particular plant.

The Plant Clinic is always ready to help gardeners and landscapers with plant questions. You can call, email, or visit. Consider taking the orange labels from the plants you purchased from the Arbor Day Plant Sale to the Plant Clinic to ask for advice on how to plant and care for them.

The Arboretum’s website has a wealth of information about selecting and growing trees, shrubs, and perennials.

All year round, the Arboretum offers gardening classes for every level of expertise.

The Arbor Day Plant Sale at The Morton Arboretum is one of the largest seasonal plant sales in the Chicago region. It offers thousands of carefully chosen plants, and expert Plant Geniuses are available throughout the sale to answer questions and suggest plants.

Tickets will be available exclusively to Arboretum members from April 1 through 14. Nonmember guests (including reciprocal guests) may purchase tickets beginning April 15. Space is limited and tickets will be first come, first served. To become a member or renew your membership so that you can order tickets April 1–14, call the Membership Hotline at 630-719-2453, visit the Member Services Desk in the Visitor Center, or join online.

The general admission ticket and the Plant Sale ticket are combined in one barcode. Show the same barcode at the gatehouse as well as at the entrance to the Plant Sale.

If you’d like to come early to enjoy the Arboretum’s grounds, Plant Sale tickets will be accepted at the gatehouse up to 45 minutes ahead of your scheduled time. You will need to park elsewhere and move your car to the Plant Sale area at your scheduled entry time. You are welcome to stay as long as you’d like after the sale to explore the Arboretum.

Due to limited space, everyone is encouraged to arrive at their entry time for the best experience. Late arrivals may need to wait to enter, based on capacity limits at the time. Ticket holders will not be able to enter until their scheduled time.

Timed-entry tickets provide a better entry and shopping experience. This practice reduces wait times at the gatehouse, moderates available parking, reduces crowding at the sale, and makes the checkout process faster and more efficient.

The sale is in the Vehicle Storage Building near the Curatorial and Operations Center, southeast of the Visitor Center. The area is usually restricted to staff, but will be accessible to Plant Sale ticket holders. Signs and guides will direct you to the location and parking.

Signs and guides will direct you to the location and parking.

Accessible parking will be available adjacent to the sale location. If the accessible spaces are full, please ask an attendant for assistance.

For large orders, please see Plant Sale staff for assistance. Plants (not people) may be shuttled to vehicles as available, or accommodation made to pull up to the site to load your order.

Shoppers will be admitted to the sale at the time specified on their ticket. Shoppers will not be admitted early.

You will be admitted at or after the time specified on your ticket. If you arrive outside your scheduled entry time, you may be asked to wait until space in the sale building opens.

There is an ample plant supply. Plants will be restocked all through the sale, so every shopper will be able to choose from a rich and varied assortment of plants expertly selected by Arboretum staff.

Members will have first access to tickets from April 1 through April 14. Nonmember guests (as well as members of reciprocal gardens) may purchase Plant Sale tickets. Only Plant Sale ticket holders will be admitted to the sale. We encourage ride sharing as Plant Sale parking is limited.

Everyone with a Plant Sale ticket, including paid guests, may make purchases at the sale.

Children under the age of 18 are welcome to attend the sale with a free ticket available during online registration. Everyone entering the sale, including children, must present a Plant Sale ticket.

Early Access ticket holders can browse and shop as long as they like.

We can’t guarantee where you will park, because the weekend of Arbor Day is one of our busiest times at the Arboretum. However, if needed, one of our friendly staff can assist with getting your plants back to your car, regardless of where you have parked.

The Arbor Day Plant Sale offers hundreds of species and varieties of trees, shrubs, perennials, grasses, ferns, vegetables, and herbs. They are specially chosen by the Arboretum’s expert staff for Chicago-area gardens. Many are grown at the Arboretum.

Every tree available for purchase at the Plant Sale will include tulle fabric, appropriately sized, to be used for protection against cicadas. The tulle will be packaged in a plastic bag and attached to each potted tree. If you’re unsure how to apply tulle to your new tree, follow these guidelines from Arboretum experts.

There will be more than 32,000 plants for sale, including trees, shrubs, vines, ferns, hostas, native plants, perennials, and ornamental grasses.

No advance list of the plants will be available. There will be hundreds of kinds of plants to choose from. Expert Plant Geniuses will be on hand to assist you.

Ask for advice from one of the Plant Geniuses who will be available throughout the sale. They are Arboretum experts who will be happy to help you find the right plant. Look for people in vivid yellow T-shirts that say “Plant Genius.”

All sales will be in person at the Arbor Day Plant Sale.

Yes. Plan to plant your young trees as soon as possible after the sale. Cover them with fine-mesh netting to protect them from egg-laying cicadas before the insects emerge in the middle of May. If you are not able to plant your trees before mid-May, cover them in netting in their pots and keep them outside, regularly watered, until the cicadas have subsided in four to six weeks.

Appropriate netting will be available for purchase at the sale while supplies last.

Learn more about the cicadas.

The Plant Sale will accept American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Visa, and Arboretum gift cards. Cash or checks will not be accepted.

Reciprocal program members may purchase tickets to the Plant Sale, which will include timed-entry admission to the Arboretum. Reciprocal program members may receive their admission benefit (two free general admissions to the Morton Arboretum) and purchase their plant sale tickets at the same time by calling the ticket line at 630-725-2066 between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Reciprocal admission tickets are not available online. You can check to see if your garden membership is part of the program here.

Recycling is not available at the sale, but gardeners will have an opportunity a few weeks later. Arboretum visitors may drop off plastic garden pots for recycling from Saturday, May 11 to Monday, May 20, 2024, at a trailer in Parking Lot 1 on the Arboretum’s East Side. Look for a trailer marked Plant Pot Recycling.

Please rinse soil and potting mix from pots before you bring them for recycling.

Arboretum members may visit the Arboretum any time and proceed to the recycling location. Guests must purchase a general admission ticket.