Re: street trees?

Hi Margaret -

Thanks for the information about your local cities trees. Fruit trees are clearly problematic, but they are even today often suggested as street trees locally - the renewed interest in 'urban farming' being what it is. People seem to imagine a veritable garden of Eden where anyone could pick luscious fruit from trees and homeless people would have something to eat (the reality would, of course, be very different).

Trying to get cities to plant something climate appropriate in mass quantities is a real challenge. There are so many great possibilities, but people tend to go with trees they 'remember' or see in books or other countries. I was once asked to sit on a board deciding on some urban development - specifically because they needed some horticultural input regarding choices of trees. Whenever the topic came up, I would ask for some selection criterion. But instead, all the other board members would just wax lyrically about trees they loved and that the remembered from childhood! I finally was able to figure out the criterion myself and proposed some appropriate trees. There was a kerfuffle because the trees I proposed were not among those mentioned in the nostalgic dreams of the other board members! Ultimately the trees were planted and were a great success. But it certainly was an uphill battle!!

SeÃn O.
http://about.me/seanaohara


On Wed, Jan 29, 2014 at 2:46 AM, Margaret A Healey <M*@bigpond.com> wrote:
When we lived in the city, our local council had a policy of planting fruit trees in suburban streets as street trees. In our small street this worked well and we could swap the glut of apricots from 'our' tree with the plums and pears near other houses. Spring and autumn were spectacular. In other areas there were complaints about fruit falling on cars or being eaten by birds, and some people who had decided that the only street tree worth its place was a plane tree, deliberately poisoned any fruit tree they could.
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In our current locality new streets get ornamental pear trees and the older streets have linden trees. The main drag through our tiny town has maple trees. The aim was to set the place up as an autumn destination. To achieve this, a rather spectacular avenue of river red gums was slaughtered and old photos of the place show just how differently a local tree made the town feel. Apart from anything else it looked cooler (temperature not the other cooler) Although the avenue was planted by residents, and hence was manufactured, it looked timeless. The 'autumn' tree avenue looks as though it was constructed purely to conform to some fashion, as indeed it was.
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As the maple trees have been drought stressed they need replacing and while some of us are advocating a return to indigenous trees, the current proposal is for topiaried conifers - despite the pollen to which many children are allergic, the upkeep, and the unfitness of such trees for the environment. I guess replacing them will be big business in a few years and I suspect that what replaces them will have less to do with their fitness as a street tree, and more to do with the delusions of arboreal fashion, and the productions of the nursery industry at the time. Logical argument has little influence on street trees here. Still they do make for a good local 'discussion'.
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Margaret Healey
Victoria, Australia
----- Original Message -----
From: s*@gimcw.org
To: m*@ucdavis.edu
Sent: Wednesday, January 29, 2014 4:01 AM
Subject: street trees?

Hey folks -

A post about the qualities of Rhus Lancea on the Facebook group got me thinking about street trees. So many people have asked me about street trees over the years - a hard thing to choose, what with local ordinances, overhead wires, pavement surrounds, abuse by any passerby, cars, etc.

I live in a pretty urban environment, so the conditions are even more extreme - e.g. lots of dust/soot from busy paved street. In such a setting, I usually suggest a deciduous tree so that there is fresh foliage each year (instead of a build up of dirty, sooty leaves), though large falling leaves can cause their own headaches.

Wondering what experiences you may have with street trees - what works well and why. What settings you've seen them in.

Roots are often seen as a problem - some species are notorious surface rooters. But many with otherwise well behaved roots seem to exhibit problems lifting pavement. My own belief is that irrigation techniques tend to encourage this problem. When the old available water is at the surface (due to shallow watering techniques) then the roots grow there, and ultimately enlarge to cause problems. Deep irrigation send tree roots deep into the soil, where they can also find other water sources.

I had a direct experience with this when asked to weigh in on choices of street trees in a neighborhood I lived in years ago. I encouraged everyone on my own block to irrigate deeply (a continuous tiny trickle of water over a couple of days, then no water for two weeks or more). Other blocks practiced a variety of techniques, based on each owner's opinion.

That single block of trees, even today (a couple of decades later) established themselves very well, are healthy, straight, and with well-behaved roots. Other plantings in the neighborhood exhibit the usual spotty survival rate, with several mis-shapen trees (or even some replacement due to failure). It was such a profound learning experience.

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