Frequently Asked Questions
About Tribute Trees
What is a memorial tree?
Many memorial trees are symbolic - planted in a place you return to.
A Tribute Tree however, is something to live alongside, grown in soil specially formulated to integrate cremated ashes and delivered to your home.
It’s not simply a symbol. It’s something living, grown with care over time.
Many memorial trees are planted in parks or forests, often at a distance from where you live. Tribute Trees are delivered to your home - to a garden, a windowsill, or a quiet corner of a room.
Not somewhere to visit.
Something to live alongside.
Families can choose to send a small portion of ashes or all of them - whatever feels right. Some prefer to keep a portion for an urn or scattering, while others are looking for a more complete solution.
Either way, something remains close, in a form that continues.
Each Tribute Tree is carefully cultivated over four to 12 weeks, depending on the amount of ashes you send. This process allows the soil to be properly prepared and supports healthy growth from the very beginning.
A Tribute Tree can be the only memorial you need, or it can sit alongside other options - including an urn, a keepsake, a burial plot, or a place where ashes have been scattered.
It’s simply another way to keep someone close, in your daily life.
Read our full guide: Living Memorial Trees from Ashes in BC: What You Need to Know.
Can any tree be used to create a memorial tree?
Not every tree is suited to this process. We’ve carefully selected a range of species that are well adapted to coastal British Columbia and typical planting conditions, helping support long-term health and success.
If you have a specific tree or location in mind, we’re always happy to talk it through. In some cases, we can explore additional options - particularly for different climates, such as the warmer, drier regions of BC’s Interior.
Can memorial trees be kept indoors?
Yes. We offer both indoor and outdoor Tribute Trees.
Our indoor tree is a carefully selected species chosen to live comfortably in the home - placed on a windowsill or in a quiet corner, where it becomes part of your daily life. It has been chosen for its ability to adapt well to typical indoor conditions and to thrive over time.
Can memorial trees be created for pets as well as people?
Yes — and the loss of a beloved pet deserves the same care and consideration.
For many families, a pet was a daily presence, a constant companion, and a meaningful part of the home. Their absence is deeply felt, and many people are looking for a way to honour that bond in a way that feels more personal.
A Tribute Tree for a pet is grown with the same attention and craft as every tree we cultivate — in soil specially formulated to integrate your pet’s ashes, and delivered to your home to live alongside you.
Because some bonds don’t need explaining.
Is the process safe and respectful?
Yes. Every step of the process is handled with care, intention, and respect.
We follow clear, thoughtful protocols for working with cremated ashes, and each tree is prepared with the same level of attention we would give our own. Your order is carefully tracked throughout, with a simple and reliable identification system from the moment it arrives to the time your tree is delivered.
This is quiet, careful work - and we approach it that way.
Where are the trees grown?
Every Tribute Tree is cultivated on the North Shore of British Columbia. Our nursery is where the soil is prepared, the ashes are integrated, and each tree spends four to 12 weeks establishing healthy roots before it is delivered.
Who is behind Tribute Trees?
Tribute Trees was founded by Ann Gallery and Simone Hicks. You can learn more about them and how Tribute Trees came to be on our About page.
The Ashes
Do you use all of my loved one's ashes?
You can send a small portion of ashes or all of them - whatever feels right.
If a portion is used, the rest remains with you and your family. Many families choose to keep ashes in an urn, preserve them in a keepsake, place them in a cemetery plot or niche, or scatter them in a meaningful location. A Tribute Tree is designed to live alongside these choices, not replace them.
If you choose to send all of the ashes, the process becomes a more complete and considered way to honour them - one that remains close to home.
Once we receive the ashes, we’ll confirm your exact cultivation timeline. The process typically takes four to 12 weeks, depending on the amount of ashes sent.
How much ash is needed for a Tribute Tree?
You can send a small portion or all of the ashes. There is no fixed amount required. Some families send everything and let the tree be the whole memorial. Others send a portion and keep the rest in an urn, scatter it, or use it for another keepsake. Tribute Trees is designed to work either way.
If you are unsure how much to send, we can guide you once you are ready to begin.
Can ashes be incorporated into more than one tree?
Yes. Many families choose to create more than one Tribute Tree, so each person who loved them can have something living of their own.
You can send a small portion of ashes or all of them. From there, we’ll guide you in creating one or more Tribute Trees, depending on your wishes.
When a portion is used, there is often enough to create multiple trees. If all of the ashes are sent, we can still guide you on how best to create more than one tree in a way that feels meaningful and considered.
A Tribute Tree can also sit alongside other forms of remembrance - an urn at home, a keepsake, a burial plot, or a place where ashes have been scattered.
There is no need to choose just one.
Are the ashes visible in the tree?
No. The ashes are incorporated into a specially prepared soil blend, where they are not visible and are gently integrated to support healthy growth.
The result is a living tree - natural in appearance, and cared for in a way that honours what has been entrusted to us.
Can't I just put the ashes in my own tree?
It's a natural thing to consider, but doing this successfully is far more complex than it might seem. Without the right preparation, the ashes are more likely to harm the tree than become part of it.
Cremated ashes are high in sodium and minerals that can damage or kill tender new roots on contact. On top of that, the Pacific Northwest already has naturally high soil pH, largely due to the region's abundance of conifers, including the pine and fir forests so characteristic of British Columbia. Cremated ashes are also highly alkaline, and introducing them directly into the soil around an existing tree can push the chemistry well beyond what most species can tolerate.
Incorporating cremated ashes into a tree in a way that actually works is a careful, scientific process. It involves specific soil formulation, measured ratios, and time. It is why our cultivation process takes four to 12 weeks. It is not something that can be replicated at home by placing ashes around an existing tree.
If you would like something living grown in soil that integrates the ashes, we are here to do that properly.
Can you put ashes in a potted tree?
You can, but without preparation the ashes are likely to harm the tree rather than support it. The high alkalinity and sodium content of cremated ashes can damage roots and prevent healthy growth when added directly to potting soil.
Tribute Trees offers indoor potted memorial trees, cultivated here in British Columbia using a carefully managed process that rebalances the soil before the tree is delivered. The result is a potted memorial tree that is ready to live in your home, grown in soil that has been fully prepared to sustain it.
Am I allowed to place ashes on my property?
Regulation may vary by region, but in British Columbia cremated ashes may be placed or scattered on private property with the landowner’s permission.
This aligns with how Tribute Trees are planted and cared for at home - in a garden, or in a way that feels natural and personal within your space.
For a full overview of what British Columbia families and pet parents can do with cremated ashes - including scattering rules, burial options, and living memorials - see our BC guide.
The Science
Can cremation ashes kill a tree?
Yes, if they are used without preparation. Cremated ashes are naturally alkaline and contain high concentrations of minerals and sodium. In unmanaged soil, elevated sodium levels reduce a tree's ability to take up water, while high alkalinity limits the availability of nutrients roots need to grow.
That is why Tribute Trees spends four to 12 weeks rebalancing the soil before any tree leaves our nursery. We incorporate up to six carefully selected amendments, test regularly, and only deliver a tree once the soil is stable and healthy roots have established.
Are cremation ashes good for plants?
Not on their own. Cremated ashes have a high pH and contain concentrated minerals and sodium that most plants cannot tolerate without careful management.
With the right preparation, however, the soil can be brought into a healthy growing range. At Tribute Trees, we use a specific sequence of horticultural amendments, including gypsum, sulphur and worm castings, to restore the soil balance and create a growing environment where a tree can thrive long-term.
What happens to cremation ashes in a Tribute Tree?
When we receive the ashes, they are thoughtfully integrated into the growing medium for your tree. We then spend four to 12 weeks carefully rebalancing the soil using up to six horticultural amendments, testing it regularly to achieve the right pH, structure and nutrient availability for the species selected.
The ashes are not visible in the finished tree. They become part of the soil that surrounds and supports the roots throughout the tree's life.
Your Tree
How long does it take to grow a memorial tree?
Each Tribute Tree is carefully cultivated over four to 12 weeks after we receive the ashes, depending on the amount you choose to send.
Smaller portions are typically ready sooner, while larger volumes require more time to be fully and thoughtfully integrated into the soil. This gradual process supports healthy growth from the outset.
Once your tree is ready, we'll confirm delivery timing with you.
How long does a memorial tree live?
A Tribute Tree is cultivated to live a full, natural lifespan. With appropriate care, most of the species we work with will grow for decades, and many for a generation or more.
Because the soil is carefully rebalanced before delivery, your tree arrives with healthy roots and a stable growing environment already established. Like any living tree, its long-term health depends on ongoing care. We provide guidance for every tree we deliver, and our Living Promise Guarantee covers you if something goes wrong in the early stages.
How tall will my tree be when delivered?
The size of your Tribute Tree will vary depending on the species and the time of year.
We select trees that are well-established and ready to transition successfully into their new home. Specific size ranges and growing requirements are outlined on each tree’s page to help you choose what feels right for your space.
You can explore our available trees and their characteristics here.
What do I need to do after delivery?
We’ll guide you through everything you need to care for your tree as it settles into its new home.
This includes simple, ongoing care such as watering and monitoring as it establishes. We provide clear instructions, and we’re always available if you have questions along the way.
Does a Tribute Tree come with a certificate?
Yes. Every Tribute Tree is accompanied by a personalized Living Memorial Certificate, bearing the name, dates, and tree details of the one being remembered.
We will work quickly to ship your order as soon as possible. Once your order has shipped, you will receive an email with further information. Delivery times vary depending on your location.
Delivery and Support
When and how will the tree be delivered?
We personally coordinate delivery with you to ensure your Tribute Tree arrives at the right time - when you’re ready and conditions are appropriate for planting.
Indoor Tribute Trees are delivered year-round once they are ready.
Outdoor Tribute Trees are delivered during appropriate planting conditions to support long-term health. We pause outdoor deliveries in July and August, when summer heat and dry soil make it the wrong time for new roots to establish.
Delivery within the Lower Mainland is a flat fee of $150, with options available across the rest of British Columbia.
If you would like additional support, our White Glove Delivery & Planting service is also available.
What if I can't lift or plant the tree?
That’s absolutely okay. We offer a White Glove Delivery & Planting service, where we take care of everything for you.
We’ll deliver the tree, prepare the planting area, and ensure it’s properly placed - so you can simply receive it and have it settled in with care. Learn more
What if my tree doesn't survive?
Every Tribute Tree is selected and prepared with care to give it the best possible start.
If your tree does not survive within the first year, we will provide a replacement at no cost (shipping not included).
Replacement trees do not include additional ashes. Many families choose to incorporate soil from the original planting site when replanting, as a way to maintain that connection.