An arboretum for the City of Atlanta was first imagined by Trees Atlanta more than 20 years ago as a grassroot effort to create the Atlanta Beltline gained attention. The bold idea began to take shape, and the community benefits of adding a linear arboretum along the trail took hold. Today, the arboretum spans 12.44 miles and is considered the world’s longest linear arboretum! At Root Ball 2026, we spotlight the trees, features, and special collections of the Beltline Arboretum. The Beltline connects people to places, and the arboretum is connecting people to trees.
Continue scrolling to review Root Ball event details and 2026 Trees Atlanta Tree Champions
Root Ball is one of our most anticipated and fun events of the year. All funds raised support the good work of Trees Atlanta and will plant and save more trees across metro Atlanta.
Guests at Root Ball will enjoy: Delicious appetizers, generous food and dessert stations, open bar, live music entertainment, silent auction, and live auction program. You will also take home a party gift, cheerful photo booth prints, and great memories with old friends and new.
Silent Auction: Online bidding opens a week prior to Root Ball. Bidding is also open to the general public. Items will be on display at Root Ball, and winners in attendance can take their items home after bids close.
Live Auction and Fund-A-Need: Enjoy a dynamic program with our auctioneer and fantastic featured items in a live auction. You’ll be delighted by a fun, fast round of bidding to Fund-A-Need.
Festive Cocktail Attire: We invite you to come as fancy or as casual as you wish. We’re always delighted to see how bright and stylish our guests are, and there’s typically a few delightfully surprising ensembles in the crowd. Let our event photographers capture your flare! Look back at some fun moments from Root Ball evenings of years past.
Venue: The Foundry at Puritan Mill is a historic event space in West Midtown and connected to the Atlanta Beltline via the Westside Spur Trail. The large gathering space features soaring ceilings and the character of its industrial past, and includes an outdoor patio where guests can mix and mingle. You’ll delight in meeting hundreds of interesting and diverse attendees that continue to grow in number each year.
Parking: Ample onsite parking is available at no cost to guests. We encourage guests to consider rideshare, carpooling, or other alternative transit. The venue is accessible via the Beltline Westside Trail.
We use a secure and trusted external ticketing and guest list management software. Your name and information will not be shared outside of Trees Atlanta. To purchase tickets, you will be redirected to OneCause and receive receipt(s) from this third-party.
A portion of your ticket purchase may be tax-deductible. Patron levels and benefits are listed below. Please consider becoming a Patron or Sponsor to make a bigger impact on Atlanta’s urban forest. Thank you!
As a Patron, you will enjoy the Root Ball knowing that your tax-deductible donation will contribute to growing and protecting Atlanta’s urban forest while also receiving Patron Benefits. Patron support is incredibly important to meet ever-increasing tree planting, conservation, and education needs in communities across metro Atlanta.
A portion of your Patron level support may be tax-deductible and is always fully appreciated!
Pawpaw Patron $5,000 10 Tickets
The following Patron Benefits include food, open bar, photo booth prints, and commemorative favor for each guest, plus Patron recognition at the event, online, and in donor lists.
Silverbell Patron $3,000 8 Tickets
Cedar Patron $1,500 6 Tickets
Dogwood Patron $1,000 4 Tickets
Redbud Patron $500 2 Tickets
Guests may purchase single tickets that include food, open bar, photo booth prints, and commemorative favor for each guest.
Early Bird Ticket $125 1 Ticket (rate effective through March 16, 2026)
Single Ticket $150 1 Ticket
Please review the Patron Benefits details for information. For assistance with Root Ball donations or tickets, contact: Don Hemrick, Director of Development, don@treesatlanta.org (404-681-4906).
We are thrilled to have these 2026 Tree Champions join us at Root Ball as our honored guests. These individuals and organizations have left their positive imprint on Trees Atlanta. They are remarkable in their consistency and long history partnering with Trees Atlanta. Read more about their impact:
Reach out to Mike Vinciquerra (mike@treesatlanta.org) to join our growing list of Root Ball 2026 Corporate Sponsors.
Dorsey Tree Farms, Redbone Nurseries, Superior Trees
If your business is interested in becoming a Corporate Sponsor or donating an item for our Silent Auction, please contact Mike Vinciquerra (mike@treesatlanta.org) or explore our Root Ball Support page.
Patron contributions may be eligible as a charitable gift per applicable tax regulations. You will receive a receipt for your records.
2026 Root Ball graphic designed by Sarah Lawrence for Trees Atlanta. Please enjoy and support Sarah’s work on Instagram.
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Magnolias are part of an ancient lineage of flowering plants dating back approximately 95 million years. The Atlanta BeltLine Arboretum is home to 18 types of magnolias from evergreen to flowering. Two magnolias in particular have witnessed history as they were planted just beyond the outfield wall for the former Ponce de Leon Park, where the Atlanta Crackers played baseball. Babe Ruth and Eddie Matthews both hit home runs that were caught in the canopy of one of these magnolia trees. As part of Arboretum experimentation, we have taken cuttings from these historic magnolias and grown them into new trees so that this piece of history can live on the Atlanta BeltLine Arboretum and in new parks and baseball fields around Atlanta.
The oak trees on this slope and throughout the Arboretum represent many ecosystems in Georgia, from bottomland hardwood swamps to granite outcrops. Of the approximately 90 species of oaks native to the United States, 33 are native to Georgia. All 33 oaks are growing on this slope and between them dance 33 stainless steel leaf sculptures – one for each tree.
These metal oaks were designed and crafted by David Landis of Landis Sculpture Studio. Learn more about David’s work here. For more information about the individual oaks featured, see our fact sheet here.
To learn more general information about our Georgia oaks, check out this video here.
Among the stateliest of our native trees, beeches are indicative of a mature forest. Though they can take around 40 years to produce a large quantity of nuts, beech trees are critical for wildlife. Beeches provide food and shelter for all kinds of birds and mammals, such as the red-headed woodpecker. Dubbed the fairy ring, the circle of beech trees here surrounds a granite outdoor classroom and gathering place where you can contemplate how the beech trees will look in 3, 5, and 10 years!
Despite the native azalea holding the title of Georgia’s State Wildflower, it is underused in the landscape. The Atlanta BeltLine Arboretum is now home to the largest public native azalea collection in the Atlanta Area with over 300 azaleas on display. The collection highlights over 25 species, cultivars, and varieties, and is home to all 13 azaleas native to the state of Georgia. This collection focuses on named cultivars (varieties that have been selected for depending on color, size, bloom time, etc.) within two series called the Georgia Moon Series and the Sunrise to Sunset Series. The Georgia Moon Series will have fragrant white-blooming Georgia native species, and the Sunrise to Sunset Series will be comprised of Georgia native species in warm orange, reds, and soft yellows blooming from March – July.
The Stumpery Garden is a horticultural oddity, serving as a public place for learning and exploration and demonstrating how trees can be utilized in a beautiful way. Stumpery gardens utilize dead, fallen, and storm-damaged trees as an asset to the garden – providing critical habitat for beetles, frogs, birds, and small mammals such as chipmunks. Whole logs are placed upside down to display their root structure, and logs, branches, and pieces of bark are arranged to form walls and archways. Plants such as ferns, lichen, mosses, soft grasses, and trailing plants are encouraged to grow on and around them.
Take a virtual tour of the Stumpery Garden here.
Different from the Eastside collection, the Westside collection has all straight species and natural varieties that encourage free hybridization. These azaleas are all grown from seed so there are many variations in the hues even between the same species.
Home to the largest American persimmon tree in the state of Georgia, this remnant old growth forest on 1.3 acres provides habitat to a variety of deep forest flora. Walking through a nature trail and over a few bridges will bring you up close and personal with woodland groundcovers, rare spring ephemerals (plants with a short life cycle) such as trillium, and a large collection of native woody species. Enjoy the seasonal blooms, learn from plant identification signs, and get hands-on with volunteer opportunities to plant, divide woodland perennials, and collect seed.
