Flowers are lovely, but they last about a week. A memorial tree is a funeral flowers alternative in South Africa that keeps going, and the benefits reach well beyond the family. Whether you live in Johannesburg, Centurion or abroad, here is what it does, and who it does it for.
A sympathy gift that gives friends something to do
Most people want to help after a death and do not know how. A memorial tree gives them a clear, kind thing to do. They choose the dedication, tell us who should receive the certificate, and the family hears about it. When many friends each add a tree, the family receives every dedication together, in one place, instead of a room of wilting bouquets. We can set up one shared link for the funeral notice or family group. The details are on our plant a tree in memory page.
The certificate. Every memorial tree comes with a certificate that carries the dedication you choose, or stays unnamed. The family can print it, frame it or forward it to relatives who could not be at the funeral. As a condolence gift, it is the part they can hold on the day, while the tree itself grows.
Something that grows, for people who never met them
A fruit tree does not only remember one person. In time it gives fruit to the people who live near it, and shade and green in the meantime. Trials in school settings have found that children eat more fruit when it is grown where they learn, and we set out what the research does and does not show on our evidence page. We are honest about the timeline: an avocado grown from pip takes several years to bear fruit, so the first benefits are shade, a green place and something shared for neighbours to look after.
Why we plant in maintained community areas
We do not let families choose a plot, and we do not scatter trees where nobody will see them again. Every memorial tree goes into a maintained community area, a place people already look after, so there are neighbours to water it in a dry spell and notice if something goes wrong. That is what turns a purchase into lasting social impact, and it is why we start in Gauteng, around Johannesburg and Centurion. Read why we start in Gauteng and how a memorial tree uplifts a community.
What to send instead of funeral flowers
- A memorial tree in the person's name, with a printable certificate for the family.
- A shared in-lieu-of-flowers link, so friends and colleagues can each add a tree.
- A sympathy gift for a South African family abroad, or any grieving friend far away: you can plant a tree in South Africa in memory of their loved one, and we email a photo when it is planted, and again at six and twelve months, and tell them where it grows.
Plant a tree in memory
A fruit tree grown, planted and cared for in their name, with a memorial tag, photos as it grows and a certificate for the family.
See how it works