Denver’s trees dying
I am so disappointed. The “greening” of Denver seems to have turned brown, at least in my neighborhood. Newly planted trees (many of them in front of the Denver Zoo and on the East 17th Avenue Parkway) so alive several weeks ago are now dead. More are dying.
I’m not an arborist, but I know that new trees need extra water. It appears that these trees did not get any.
I have been told that Denver has only two water trucks for the whole city. The dead trees will soon be removed and more planted. I hope that before this happens the city will find more resources for watering its precious (and expensive) trees.
Barbara Moe, Denver
What kind of trees were planted? Were they trees from the east coast, which is typically more humid & has more water than Colorado (which, in case you didn't realize, is HIGH DESERT) - or were they trees native to Colorado, which can exist with lower water requirements? Perhaps the city governments (not just Denver) should set an example by ONLY planting native flora, which are drought resistant.
Posted by Mary on July 5, 2007 04:43 AMhey hick doesnt care he has and endless money supply from the tax payers. hick should listen to this water truck prolem and see it as a job growth area for all of his beloved illigals. he could hire a whole bunch of them and put them on the cities payrole. look at all the votes he would get.
Posted by [fish] on July 5, 2007 06:41 AMWhat the heck are you talking about Barbara? I run the 17th Ave Parkway about 5 times a week, and I havent noticed any dead trees. I'll check again tonite, though.
Posted by Tbone on July 5, 2007 09:37 AMIn this push button world, people including city employees, forget what is needed when planting a tree. I am going to make 2 guesses at what is happening to these trees. Though I have never seen them.
1. While water is certainly important, if these trees were in burlap balls and the burlap was never removed, the roots can not get down where they need to be, so the tree slowly dies.
2. Soil ammended, many people believe they must ammend soil, including farmers. Over fertilization may be the culpret, but it could also be the hole that was dug was ammended with, peat or potting soil of some form that retains water, if this hole is a clay soil originally the ammendment would only create drownding of the tree, especailly if the burlap was never removed.
All they would have had to do to solve the problem is ;
1. Remove the burlap around the root ball.
2. mix soil ammendments with the original soil in the hole.
3. do not bury the trunk farther down than the original root ball.
It's either Bush's fault or global warming. Or better yet, both.
Posted by Christina on July 5, 2007 10:20 AMFarmer,
if I told you the soil was only slightly amended and the burlap removed, what would be your diagnosis?
Best,
D
Posted by Dano on July 5, 2007 10:50 AMTo answer Mary's question, the trees that I have seen planted in and around Denver city parks include: oaks, horse chestnuts, hawthorns, common persimmons, Kentucky coffee trees, and honey locusts.
Except for the last two, the remainder of the species being planted are not very drought resistant and, in fact, take tons of water to getting properly rooted. Is it any wonder that there's a water shortage on the horizon?
Posted by Welsh Dragon on July 5, 2007 01:17 PM“The dead trees will soon be removed and more planted.” Liberal efficiency. They at least felt good about planting them.
Posted by Uno on July 6, 2007 07:26 AM