In Zimbabwe rural afforestation efforts by government and non-government organizations have focused on the formation of cooperative tree growing groups to undertake agroforestry or small-scale afforestation projects involving the propagation of the exotic species E. camaldulensis. However, since the inception of several afforestation projects in the mid-1980s the majority of woodlots that have been established are located on individual smallholdings; cooperative tree-growing groups are not frequently observed in Zimbabwes Mutoko District. Economic return estimates suggest that woodlots planted as individual smallholdings and cooperative tree growing ventures are both economically profitable, but that subsidies play a significant role in motivating cooperative groups to grow trees. Socioeconomic and biophysical analysis indicates that there are characteristics that may be attributed to each tenure type and that the biophysical rate of tree growth may influence economic returns on investment. The policy implication is that if the adoption of cooperative woodlots to remain a major focus of extension efforts, than the provision of subsidies and extension support to cooperatives to plant trees should be intensified, and issues of institutions and governance with respect to cooperative groups more closely examined.