The Healdsburg City Council took a brief break from weightier business last week—new in-lieu fees, the Eel-Russian River project—to decide something more symbolic: the city’s first official plant.
The idea originated with Garden Club member Mary Kelley, who proposed the designation during the council’s 2024–25 goal-setting session. The Healdsburg Garden Club’s Theresa Wistrom eventually proposed six native plants at a May City Council meeting: three local wildflowers, Blue-eyed grass, the California native grape and a non-specific oak were all nominated.
An online public survey conducted from June 11 to July 9 drew about 180 responses. Oaks received more than 34% of the vote, outpacing the California native grape at 24%, the Douglas lily at 18.5%, Blue-eyed grass at 12%, and two other wildflowers under 10%. While multiple oak species are common in the region, including the Blue oak and the Live oak, the council designated the Valley oak as the representative species.
Kelley has long advocated for this choice. Writing in The Healdsburg Tribune, she called the Valley oak “a keystone, or anchor species, in this unique ecological bioregion,” and warned that it is in decline due to development pressures and climate change.
“Perhaps by identifying and recognizing Valley Oaks,” she wrote, “we will learn to take better care of them and understand how their shade and beauty make a positive difference in our daily lives.”
Supporters also cited cultural and ecological significance of the oaks and the other nominated species as well. Acorns from local oaks were a staple food for Indigenous populations, and the trees provide habitat for many species. The California native grape, while less recognized locally, had historic value: its rootstock helped rescue global viticulture during the 19th-century phylloxera infestation.
The survey generated 67 written comments, with most expressing appreciation for the project. Some residents suggested additional candidates, including roses, prune trees and Western redbud. But the prevailing sentiment in comments was appreciation for the city’s effort to recognize native plant life. “Thank you for this project,” read one of them. “Trees are so important to cooling our town in the warm months, and then when their leaves drop in the fall they build the soils beneath them. I hope the Valley Oak is designated as our official tree.”
Tree preservation has become a recurring local issue. In 2024, plans for a Montage Healdsburg parking lot threatened more than 100 Blue oaks before being abandoned. Also last summer, a diseased Valley oak at Hudson and Fitch was removed during development of a community garden.
The council reached a decision with little debate, though the conversation took a detour to speculate about how a single Valley oak in particular might be chosen as representative of the city’s official plant, and perhaps given its own name (like the Eisenhower Redwood at Villa Chanticleer).
That suggestion gave Councilmember David Hagele a chance to jokingly propose that another survey might be called for. Said Councilmember Ariel Kelley, “Everyone submit photos, and we choose a name—like Oakie Dokie!”
Questions were also raised about whether the city’s grape-leaf logo should change, though no action was proposed. Neighboring Windsor’s logo already depicts a spreading oak of uncertain type, though Windsor has not designated an official plant.
At this point however there are no firm plans to select a specific tree, or to give it a name. The Community Services Department will bring forward a resolution to confirm the selection in the coming weeks. Once approved, the Valley oak, Quercus lobata, will formally stand as Healdsburg’s emblematic plant.
