So, Whats the Value of a Street Tree?

[urbie]

I has a pretty long crack in the trunk that I think has been there since the beginning.

When we had a small apple tree that got split down the middle (ice storm), we had good results by binding it up with a radiator hose clamp (actually 3 hose clamps put together), just clamping down on it 'til the trunk wasn't coming apart anymore. The tree healed, and a few years later, we took the clamps off.

Unfortunately, a few years after that, we had a windstorm, and a big willow blew over, right onto the little apple tree -- splat!

Urb

[jencoleslaw]

yeah, I know...I have to call Doug Still and have him come out. Its been pretty rough since it went in...I thought it would hold on, but not looking like it will, though some leaves started coming back at the bottom. I has a pretty long crack in the trunk that I think has been there since the beginning.

When the city puts trees in, do they contract that out, or do it themselves?

i think yours was a contract tree so it should be covered by their guarantee.

[Jerry2]

why don't you organize a street tree planting? That's a start. Also you can totally dog this guy with whatever he's doing with that lot. there's always satisfaction in being a tattletail.

The only problem with that is that I live on one of those ultra thin one-way streets on Smith Hill. There is literally no room for tree plantings because they would hit the houses. The sidewalk is about 3'long and can barely accomodate the new trash bins we got a few months ago. The Providence Housing Authority owns Carroll Towers and they have very well-maintained grounds and a few trees planted on the street where the parking lot is.....In other news, it looks like the now decapitated lot is going to be parking. They have people out there this morning bringing the lot to grade.

[jencoleslaw]

The only problem with that is that I live on one of those ultra thin one-way streets on Smith Hill. There is literally no room for tree plantings because they would hit the houses. The sidewalk is about 3'long and can barely accomodate the new trash bins we got a few months ago. The Providence Housing Authority owns Carroll Towers and they have very well-maintained grounds and a few trees planted on the street where the parking lot is.....In other news, it looks like the now decapitated lot is going to be parking. They have people out there this morning bringing the lot to grade.

they need a permit to do that, btw, and it would require a use change with zoning. Get 'er done, dude.

[matt]

I have two maple trees in my yard. One in the front of the house, one in the rear.

They both are now covered in leaves that look like this:

I've noticed many trees in the neighborhood look like this now.

I think its a fungus. Anyone have experience with this?

[yossarian]

I have two maple trees in my yard. One in the front of the house, one in the rear.

They both are now covered in leaves that look like this:

I've noticed many trees in the neighborhood look like this now.

I think its a fungus. Anyone have experience with this?

I've got the same problem with the maples around my house, which is also in Elmhurst. I am told that it is a fungus initally caused by rotting leaves and will clear up in a couple of years if fallen leaves are cleaned up promptly. This is the second year its appeared on the trees around me.

[cipher]

I've got the same problem with the maples around my house, which is also in Elmhurst. I am told that it is a fungus initally caused by rotting leaves and will clear up in a couple of years if fallen leaves are cleaned up promptly. This is the second year its appeared on the trees around me.

The maple fungus has affected many of the trees in the Blackstone Park.

[Liamlunchtray]

The maple fungus has affected many of the trees in the Blackstone Park.

I looked around in more detail and it is affecting most all of the maples on our street

[jencoleslaw]

while i'm not a licensed arborist, generally funguses (fungi?) don't kill trees or plants, but merely lower their immune system so that they die from some other way, like pests or other diseases. However, it is important to note that very healthy trees don't usually fall victim to fungus, so make sure your tree is getting plenty of water, good mulch, no dog poop, etc.

The key is to pick up any leaves that fall and throw them in the trash (not the compost!). Fungus lurks in dampish conditions and often moves through the air on tiny little spores so make sure that your mulch is fresh, and that there are no leaves just hanging around on the ground in piles, especially with all this rain. and i can't stress enough the importance of not composting leaves that have fungus amongst them.

Here's a nice article about maple fungus...

Maple Fungus, not Maple Candy!

[Recchia]

while i'm not a licensed arborist, generally funguses (fungi?) don't kill trees or plants, but merely lower their immune system so that they die from some other way, like pests or other diseases.

You're the tree lady and you're not an arborist?

[jencoleslaw]

You're the tree lady and you're not an arborist?

nope. i rely on my trusty city forester and tree resource manager for things i don't know the answer to. I have thought about getting my license, but i don't have the time. I have been working on landscaping and trees though, since i was about 12, as my father was a tree man for Davey and then had his own landscape company out on Fishers Island and i worked my way through college with him. Oddly, i actually hold a degree in writing (non fiction) from a military college.

[jencoleslaw]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...er=emailarticle

Tree-Planting Drive Seeks To Bring a New Urban Cool

By Blaine Harden

SACRAMENTO -- This city believes an answer for global warming is growing on trees.

[runawayjim]

trees do create a cooler environment... which is why cities are normally warmer than their close suburbs and rural areas.

[urbie]

Hey, this afternoon, we got slightly sidetracked on our way to Jacob Licht restaurant supply (on Westminster) to buy some shelving -- that is, I made a wrong choice of exit off 95 and ended up on Rte 10 (Huntington Expwy). Got off on Union Avenue and jogged back to Westminster from there. I'm not sure what that neighborhood is called, that we drove through -- but anyhow, on some of the streets, they have these funny-looking boxed-in trees that are not on the sidewalk; they're *in* the street, in between parking spaces.

What's up with that? When did they put those in?

Urb

[runawayjim]

Hey, this afternoon, we got slightly sidetracked on our way to Jacob Licht restaurant supply (on Westminster) to buy some shelving -- that is, I made a wrong choice of exit off 95 and ended up on Rte 10 (Huntington Expwy). Got off on Union Avenue and jogged back to Westminster from there. I'm not sure what that neighborhood is called, that we drove through -- but anyhow, on some of the streets, they have these funny-looking boxed-in trees that are not on the sidewalk; they're *in* the street, in between parking spaces.

What's up with that? When did they put those in?

Urb

sounds like the armory district.

[Cotuit]

they're *in* the street, in between parking spaces.

Really? I've been meaning to start a thread about that concept as I saw it a lot in Spain and really lliked it.

[jencoleslaw]

it was sycamore or messer st in the armory district and they are used as traffic calming. I personally like them because they slow down everyone's vehicle, not just the drug dealers but there's been a lot of complaining about them because the boxes are so pointy that folks have ripped tires open by hitting the granit. I drive a good sized truck through there and have never had a problem passing cars going in the other direction. You just have to SLOW DOWN. which, of course, is the whole point.

there's a lot of interesting info out there about traffic calming...

[Cotuit]

So the sidewalk/curb bends out to wrap around the trees? What I saw in Spain was trees planted right in the street between parking spots. You'd have two parking spots, a tree, two parking spots, a tree... all along the street. In some areas, the curb came out, in others, the tree was just planted in the street, sometimes with somesort of bollard beside it to protect it from parking cars. I liked this because it brought the green in narrowing the street in a way and serving as traffic calming. It defined the parking spaces, each tree had two spaces between it, no guessing where one spot ends and the next begins, and no one parking wrong, screwing up a whole block of parking. And the trees are out of the sidewalk allowing pedestrian traffic to flow freely.

When you think about it, where should the trees go? In traffic? No they'd be in the way of cars. In the sidewalk? No, then they are in the way of pedestrians, which are their own form of moving traffic. In the parking lane? Yes, the parking lane is a stationary lane, no moving traffic, immobile trees belong there, they aren't in anyones way that way.

I do wonder though, if we can plant in the actual street here. I wonder what road salt mixed with snowmelt would do to the trees. I don't know if they'd be any more worse off than ones on the sidewalks currently are.

[runawayjim]

I do wonder though, if we can plant in the actual street here. I wonder what road salt mixed with snowmelt would do to the trees. I don't know if they'd be any more worse off than ones on the sidewalks currently are.

the road salt and icemelt certainly get on the sidewalk and into the tree spots (are they called tree wells? for some reason that word comes to mind). i don't think it'd really affect the trees that much. i think street trees are usually pretty robust species.

[jencoleslaw]

you should probably start a new thread on traffic calming.

I like the bump outs at the armory, although if i had to do it on another street, i might round out the "boxes" the trees are in so they aren't so sharp. I also like the ones in Elmwood, which are roundabouts with things planted in them. Neck downs work pretty well too--we saw lots of them in residential neighborhoods in PDX.

What i don't like are speed humps or bumps because it causes cars to speed up to them, slow down, go over the hump and then step on the gas. Not good for anything--traffic calming, noise or air quality. Keeping cars going slower at a constant rate of speed is a good way to slow down traffic. Stop signs also do not do much to slow down traffic-they merely stop it at a few points in the road. But between the signs you can go wicket fast!

and, salt and sand and crap most certainly do a lot to add to the demise of the modern street tree. So do snow plow blades. What protects trees from chemical de-icing is a good layer of mulch which is then thrown away (not composted) in the spring. Don't you people read my website?!

oh and planting trees in the roadbed is tough because there isn't the right kind of structural soil under the asphalt to help tree roots along. the soil is very very compacted...

[Frankie811]

I'm not sure what that neighborhood is called, that we drove through -- but anyhow, on some of the streets, they have these funny-looking boxed-in trees that are not on the sidewalk; they're *in* the street, in between parking spaces.

Urb

Those things have been there for several years now and I HATE them!

[urbie]

you should probably start a new thread on traffic calming.

Let's not, because traffic calming is a misnomer -- all it does is make people mad, without solving problems or "calming" anyone appreciably.

We have the bumpouts, too. I don't see the point. And our old neighborhood in suburban Chicago sprouted stop signs all over the place, and all they did was make cars stop -- and then hit the gas and make noise (AND waste gas).

The solution to traffic that needs to be "calmed" is to engineer more ways for it to move -- not to slow it down. But that's not a discussion we need to have -- I was just curious about those trees....

Urb

[Recchia]

The trees in the street thing sounds like the 'woonerf' concept in Europe (Dutch for "living street"). Basically, put enough objects in the street, like trees, benches, etc., that the street finally becomes a place for everyone, not just for cars. It works well on neighborhood residential streets and has signage designating the street for cars, pedestrians, children, etc.

Here's the sign for it:

Of course, this is America, so the concept of anything being made for pedestrians beyond a 3-foot wide sidewalk and the occasional crosswalk is totally unacceptable...

[runawayjim]

so i'm in philly this weekend. the streets around my fiancee's apartment are lined with huge old trees and some younger ones. you wouldn't think there was a shortage at all (and there really isn't). they still planted a whole bunch of new trees along the streets here. jen would be proud.

[jencoleslaw]

so i'm in philly this weekend. the streets around my fiancee's apartment are lined with huge old trees and some younger ones. you wouldn't think there was a shortage at all (and there really isn't). they still planted a whole bunch of new trees along the streets here. jen would be proud.