Re: Tree butchery

What I don't understand is how a rational half-aware person can plant a Liquidambar tree under a powerline. In some developments, the trees were pre-existing and the problem is rather unavoidable. But a new development?
I applied for the local Tree Committee. I think I come off as too troublesome for a city committee. They don't want someone that doesn't have their opinions already. One of my peeves is that the city does almost nothing to educate people about what trees are "appropriate". I frankly don't think they know because I don't think they have spent ten minutes looking. There is a pine tree, probably an Italian Stone Pine that has been sliced off just under the power lines. It's interesting looking but totally inappropriate in my view.
It seems to me that there should be a way of allowing the wires to penetrate the tree without massive pruning. It seems to me there ought to be a way of anchoring the lines to the tree , to the trunk directly, which would allow the tree to remain as it should be. In other words, use the tree as a pseudo-pole!
Ah well, people buy a cute little thing in a gallon bucket and figure they can plant it just anywhere. Then they express surprise ten years later when it is 60 feet tall and has cracked the slab of their house! Ugh! A pox on all of thee that do this! ---Chas---
///////////////////////////////////////////-----------------------------------

On Aug 26, 2004, at 5:41 PM, Doobieous wrote:

--- Bracey Tiede <tiede@pacbell.net> wrote:

Moira,

Kiwis are no worse than Americans. I drive around
the SF Bay Area sadly
noting the wholesale deformation of all kinds of
trees. In some
neighborhoods that haven't undergrounded their
utility (power, phone, cable
tv) lines, the power company has come through and
created big vee-shaped
holes in the middle of street trees to keep them out
of the power lines.
There is a Chinese elm down the street that will
probably just split in half
this year because the majority of the tree is
hanging out over the street
and not over the trunk. Palm trees are beheaded.
It's horrendous.

Our MG group is thinking of having an 'Ugly Tree'
contest this winter so we
can post photos of what not to do on our website.


There is a walnut tree along the 101 in Gilroy where
they did just that... they cut a v-shape into the form
of the tree to keep it out of the powerlines. Another
thing i've seen is simply pruning back a Monterey
Cypress to keep it out of the wires (it has worked...
they didn't top it as far sa I can tall). But, more
often than not they top the trees, which is quite sad.

However most people just don't plant anything under
the lines it seems (well they don't even plant
anything in planting medians where there are no
overhead lines either... oddly)

I really would love to see powerlines placed
underground more. It would allow street trees to go
unscathed and at least end lines falling due to wind
storms and the like (although i suppose getting to a
wire that's having problems with tree roots over them
could be an issue.)
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index