Protecting Tree in Street
To my great delight, the city has planted a new tree in the sidewalk outside my house, presumably in response to a request I posted on their web site last year. The tree looks fantastic but the tree bed (is that what it’s called?) has nothing around it to keep the soil in place, and…
To my great delight, the city has planted a new tree in the sidewalk outside my house, presumably in response to a request I posted on their web site last year. The tree looks fantastic but the tree bed (is that what it’s called?) has nothing around it to keep the soil in place, and it is already spilling out onto the sidewalk. I would love to put some plants in the soil and generally keep it looking nice but I don’t think I will succeed unless the soil is surrounded by bricks, cobbles or a little fence to keep everything in place (and to keep dogs out). Does anyone know if the city provides this, or if I should go to Home Depot this weekend and buy something to get the job done?
We were so delighted when we got a tree in front of our house, we shelled out for an iron tree pit guard. I plant the tree pit so water regularly all summer. This of course benefits the tree as well as the flowers and perennials! Then I mulch in the late winter.
Slopefarm: this link makes an interesting point about solid-wall brick guards—basically that they encourage people to build the soil level too high: http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_newsroom/daily_plants/daily_plant_main.php?id=10511
Brick placed without mortar is not, in and of itself, bad practice. And mulch, of course, is good practice in terms of retaining moisture and reducing weeds. The mulch can be mounded to a certain extent, as long as the mound is distant from the trunk—that part is critical. See also: http://www.milliontreesnyc.org/html/planting/soil_management.shtml
A brick border to keep soil in (without raising it) is fine. When I redid the sidewalk, I got the pit enlarged and bricks to border it, so the actual dirt size was slightly larger. I got some inexpensive metal rails which I expoxied into holes drilled into the brick. Hopefully they will last a while, but what with cars banging into the curb-side brick, am not sure.
vinca, I didn’t mound the mulch, the City did. They mounded it quite high and all of it was gone within a month or so. After that, I spread a thin layer, most of which is now gone.
Street tree pits can be planted, but there are certain cautions. Slopefarm, maybe you’ve mounded the mulch too high? The 8th St. block that won last year’s “Greenest Block” developed and built their own affordable tree guards. I think they were basically 4×4’s with detachable chain. There are many photos of Greenest contest winners here:
http://www.bbg.org/edu/greenbridge/greenestblock/2008/winners_all.html
See these useful links and short extract below, re: street tree tips and care:
http://www.bbg.org/exp/bigtrees/street/
http://www.bbg.org/exp/bigtrees/street/treecare_tips.pdf
http://www.bbg.org/exp/bigtrees/street/treecare_plants.pdf
http://www.bbg.org/exp/water/tipsheets.html
http://www.hawthornestreet.com/plant_life/
Extract from 2nd link: If you’re not careful, though, planting in tree pits can do more harm than good! How? Overcultivating the soil damages tree roots, and raising the level of the soil in a tree pit to make room for flowers can actually kill a tree. It may cause take several years to show, but the damage to the tree is real. Moist soil or mulch mounded against the base of the tree can the bark to rot, provide an entry point for pests and diseases, or create a home for rodents to eat away at the tree base. Rotten or damaged bark at the base of the trunk can “girdle†a tree, strangling it to death. When a girdled tree dies, it can topple over from the base, often causing a lot of damage. Excess soil in a tree pit can also choke roots. Roots need oxygen, which they get from air trapped in soil. When too much soil is piled up, the air is squeezed out. Without oxygen, roots die, and without a strong, healthy root system, the tree will die.
Here’s how you can plant in the tree pit without harming your street tree.
• Plant flowers or groundcovers with small root systems. That way you won’t disturb the tree’s roots to a great depth when you plant. Try small annuals like impatiens, or perennial groundcovers like bugleweed (Ajuga reptans) or periwinkle (Vinca minor)—avoid ivy. Small bulbs are good too: try crocus, miniature daffodils, or glory-of-the-snow (Chionodoxa species). Stay clear of large shrubs and water-hungry plants. See the “Tree Pit Plants†tip sheet for more ideas.
• Don’t raise the level of the soil by more than 1/2 inch. Instead, with a hand cultivator gently loosen the soil to a depth of 1 to 2 inches, removing soil if needed to accommodate your groundcover’s root-balls.
I’ve been debating putting some bricks around the edge of the pit for a new tree. The rains keep washing the mulch into the street. How do you keep the mulch in without blocking the water?
P.S. The trees are having quite an effect. A snark-free comment from snark? What is the world coming to??
I took the street tree class mentioned above and a few things to note:
bricks/block around the tree are really not a good idea, they prevent the maximum water getting to the tree.
Plants in the tree pit should also be kept to a minimum if at all, for the same reason.
The best thing is to put a metal fence around, though unfortunately those are costly. Our block got some done through the city (I’m not sure how, a neighbor organized it) but they didn’t do the one by my house unfortunately
I love love love the tree planting campaign. My block has a few new trees, and some are even going up along 4th Ave.
I suspect much of the planting effort is linked to Million Trees campaign: http://www.milliontreesnyc.org/html/home/home.shtml
OP, for education classes at BBG, including Greenbridge, see: http://www.bbg.org/edu/