Today I was out walking in a neighborhood close to my house. When I turned a corner I saw a tree with a large X spray-painted on it.
I got close enough to read the flyer stapled to the trunk:
The flyer said said:
The Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) is a beetle that came to North America from China in shipping crates. The beetle only feeds on ash trees, and has decimated the ash population, spreading out from the Great Lakes, where it first arrived. Over the next ten years, most ash trees in the United States will be wiped out. While treatment is possible, it is an ongoing expense and not guaranteed to work. Therefore, most cities are removing ash trees, either preemptively, or as their health deteriorates. Preemptive removal helps slow the spread of EAB by reducing its food source. This tree has been identified as an ash tree that will need to be removed.
Of course the job needs to be done, but I pity the people who are going to lose a large source of shade. The funny thing was that the ash tree looked to be in better shape than the oak next to it, which had a dozen leafless branches. Given that the city will be removing the trees I suspect they'll be in charge of planting new ones. I wonder if the homeowners have any say in the type that goes in?
Five years ago today: No Seeds For Me
Terrible. Our area is also affected by the ash borer.
ReplyDeleteI had an small ash in my front yard that had started by itself. It was about 4" in diameter. UE wanted to trim it because it was growing up into the lines. I told them no trimming. Take it all the way down or don't trim. I got it taken down and hauled away for free.
ReplyDeleteNice work!
DeleteThe birches here have a new disease or insect. It hit my paper birch in the back and it had to be taken out. One branch would die here, or there, slowly killing it. The arborist told me what was wrong, but I have forgotten, but said most of the birches in the valley will die.
ReplyDeleteYikes! I hadn't heard about birch issues here.
DeleteWe went through EAB denudation about ten years ago. Very say, especially the Adirondacks, which I travelled through often. Just miles of denuded, gray trees on the mountains.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds right that you would have been affected before this area, since I believe that the Great Lakes were the initial point of entry.
DeleteIt is a shame they couldn't have found some way to control the ash borer. Remember the disagreements that happened when they decided to take all of the ash trees that had been planted around the arch grounds for so many years. They did replant other types of trees though, from what I heard. I hope Kirkwood will plant some shade trees to replace the ones that have to come down.
ReplyDeleteWhen our subdivision was built there were a lot of Chinese elm trees planted along the streets. Unfortunately limbs broke off of them pretty easy and ended up blocking roads when there would be ice storms. I don't think they plant those trees much anymore. I have noticed some of the oaks in our neighborhood looking like they are struggling. I don't know what that is from. People who planted spruce trees in their yards have lost many of them. We had one in our yard and about three years ago it had to be cut down. It was leaning toward our house. My husband could not see that it was leaning. I told him to square it up with the window in the door and he would see how much it was leaning. When they took it down the main root was completely rotten way down and only a few live roots were alive. Only the Lord and luck were keeping it from falling onto our house. Without that big spruce, where hundreds of baby birds of all kinds must have hatched, it is as hot as blazes every spring and afternoon in spring and summer. I sure miss that tree. I don't know what other type of tree to plant there.
I think with the weather changes in the summers here are getting to be too hot for the spruce.
I agree that as things get warmer in the metro area different types of trees, bushes, and flowers will be easier to grow than what's there now. I think the Botanical Garden has a list of recommended things to plant, or perhaps someone whose brain you could pick.
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