Trees

Do you know that your subdivision's urban forest consists of 407 street trees,  including pin oaks, redbuds, sugar maples, silver maples, ginkos, coffee trees, bald cypress, golden rain trees, pears, sycamores, white ash, river birch, dawn redwood, Siberian elm, lindens,  and black gums?

As trustees, our responsibility is to keep these healthy, not dangerous, esthetically well shaped and interesting in form and variety.  Wow, what a charge. Your responsibility as the neighbors of these trees, is to keep them watered, to keep them from damage from lawnmowers and string trimmers (try mulch), to let us know when they are in need of pruning or disease control, and to watch out for them, as if they were your own, because they are.

We employ Droege Tree Service to help us manage our forest.  They do an annual survey of each tree on our streets and give us a plan for each tree, which lets us know what must be done for safety, what preventative work should be done, what disease containment will be useful, and what trees are headed for the lumberyard.  Because they are our neighbors over on Ferguson and Olive, we have an arrangement with them that they will fit our work into their schedule, so if they have a crew available for a few hours, they will come here and work, since it is close by and saves them travel time.  They, in turn, help us minimize the cost.  We value their advice and knowledge about our trees.  If you have questions about any particular tree, call your tree trustee for information on our plans for it. We anticipate that they will begin the bulk of the work this year in February and March.

As you might imagine if you have had any tree work done by a firm with knowledge, skill, and insurance lately, all of this does not come cheap.  We have had to do only the critical trimming for many years.  Our planting budget has been tiny to non-existent recently.  We would like to squeeze out a few new trees this year.  Please call us (again) with the locations of trees you would like to see planted.  If the spot is suitable, we will see what we can do, depending on the cash flow.  However, we are also encouraging folks who want to get the planting on their own schedule to either plant their own tree or to hire a nursery to do it for you, after checking with the trustees.  Currently, we are recommending white ash (purple fall color), river birch (interesting bark, use only single stemmed trees), sugar maple (orange fall color), linden (well shaped, sweet leaves), black gum (red fall color, vigorous large native tree).  Other trees will be considered if suggested.

Tree Selection and Recommendations University Heights #1

Considerations for planting anywhere
Site - Should a tree be planted there?

• Overhead wires
• Underground wires, pipes
• Traffic safety, will it impede vision
• Security
• Street sidewalk considerations: roots, low branches
• Too much or not enough water
• Are there roots left from the last tree on that site.  Generally several years should pass before replanting in any spot, to give the roots time to decay.

Purpose:

• Landscape considerations
• Screening
• Noise abatement
• Shade
• Physical barriers
• Windbreak

Desirable features:

• Flowers
• Fall color/spring color
• Fruit
• Bark color/texture
• Leaf texture/twig texture
• Form/shape
• Winter aesthetics

Undesirable features

• Leaf/twig drop
• Fruit (problem fruit: sweet gum, ginko, walnut)
• Weak wood
• Propensity for disease/insect problems
• Thorns, leaves (holly)
• Invasiveness
• Surface roots

Common mistakes in planting:

• Location (buildings, streets, wires, etc.)
• Too much sun (Dogwood)
• Too much shade (White pine)
• Improper planting technique (depth)
• Wrong tree for site
• Bad tree (form, structure, roots)

Generally undesirable trees (for this area):

• Norway maple
• Pin oak
• Sycamore
• Sweet gum
• Austrian pine
• Crabapple (Many varieties)
• Bradford pear
• Silver maple
• Black locust
• Green ash

Preventable problems:

• Construction damage
• Too much or not enough water
• Soil compaction
• Mower/string trimmer damage (mulch tree to prevent damage)
• Improper pruning

Planting hints:

• Plant the tree at the same height at which it was growing in the pot or ball.
• Remove the wire basket completely
• Remove, fold under, or cut down the burlap so that none of it will ever reach the surface.  This causes moisture to wick out and inhibits growth.
• Remove all twine, especially any around the trunk
• Water it well for the first year, at least, including winter.  In the beginning, soak it overnight every two weeks.
• Spring planting is preferred, mostly because the available stock is better then.
• Be careful of wires and pipes underground.  Call 1-800-Dig-Rite.  They will tell you what might be where you want to dig.

Temporary trees:  Experience has shown that some trees have a short life span, and generally do not last long.  Short life span trees can be planted if landscape or other surroundings will be changing.  Usually we get 10-15 years in this area, sometimes more, often less.

• Purple-leaf plum
• Bradford pear
• Willow
• White birch
• Peach, apricot, almond, or cherry

Good trees for Missouri:

• Shade trees recommended for our streets
  • White Ash (Autumn purple)
  • River birch (interesting bark, use only single stemmed trees)
  • Sugar maple (orange fall color)
  • Linden (well shaped, sweet leaves)
  • Black gum (red fall color, vigorous large native tree)
• Small to medium trees, may be suitable for some street locations
  • Amur maple
  • Redbud
  • Dogwoods (Flowering dogwoods like shade/Kousa dogwoods like sun
  • Goldenrain tree
  • Japanese maple

If you want a tree on your tree lawn:

• The trustees will be planting some trees, as the budget allows.  Call if you have a favorite empty space you would like to see planted.
• Residents may buy and plant a tree yourself or hire a nursery to do it for you.
• All trees planted on the tree lawn must have prior approval by the trustees for variety and location.
• Trees become the property of the trustees at planting and the trustees will prune and maintain them.
• In spite of the above legalities, these young trees survive best when their householders watch out for them and water them regularly.  Call for assistance with your young tree if you have any questions.
• Any resident wishing to do serious pruning to any treelawn tree must have trustee approval, whether they wish to do it themselves or hire it done.