2024 Best City Tree: Weber Park's Cottonwood Tree

Weber Park's cottonwood tree taken by Heyer

Despite one earning the Best City Tree Award as part of the Energy & Environment Commission’s 2024 Tree Recognition campaign, Cottonwood trees aren’t always ideal in city settings.

Weber Park’s remaining Cottonwood tree is the exception — it’s the right tree in the right place.

“The tree is like a centerpiece of the park. It’s so massive that it’s the focal point,” said City Forester Luther Overholt.

Cottonwoods are especially fast-growing, typically adding about four-to-five feet per year. In ideal conditions, they can grow up to eight feet in one year.

For Edina resident Andrew Heyer, Weber Park’s Cottonwood tree provides lots of shade and a sense of calm, which is why he nominated the tree for the Best City Tree award.

“I look at the tree and feel calm. In this face-paced world, I need a way to calm down, and this is a way to do that. It’s like a Japanese garden—I feel calm looking at it,” said Heyer. “That’s why I like it.”

Over 100 years old, the Cottonwood sits at the end of the pedestrian bridge on the banks of Weber Pond. Cottonwoods belong next to the water banks of rivers or city ponds, because they are water-loving, filter a lot of water and can tolerate being submerged in water for a couple of weeks.

Previously, the tree was joined by two other large Cottonwoods, but they were removed during the Morningside Flood Infrastructure Project in 2022 to accommodate construction work.

Heyer stands on the pedestrian bridge in front of the cottonwood tree at Weber Park

“We were able to retain one magnificent Cottonwood. The location was perfect and it was the largest of all three trees, so it was the best one to keep,” said Overholt.

The Morningside Flood Infrastructure Project expanded and lowered Weber Pond and Lynn/Kipling Pond to improve storm-water drainage and prevent flooding in Edina’s Morningside Neighborhood and nearby Minneapolis and St. Louis Park neighborhoods.

Completed in July 2024, the flood infrastructure project included the restoration of natural resources in upland areas and new trails and bridge crossings at two locations in Weber Park.

If you have a tree that deserves special recognition, you can nominate it for the 2025 Tree Recognition Campaign now through Oct. 15 using the Tree Nomination Form.

“The Tree Recognition Campaign promotes tree awareness. Trees are good for cities, which is why it’s important,” said Heyer.