Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Acorns may be nuts, too, but at least they produce trees.


How heartened I was to learn that, due to "irrevocable damage", the numerous Pin Oak trees at the corner of Spring and Pearl (which, unlike other city property, in just the past few years survived a hurricane and a tornado) would be replaced with "regionally appropriate" trees, say, like... Pin Oaks.
 
"Pin oak is among the most widely planted native oaks in the urban landscape and the third most common street tree in New York City. It tolerates drought, poor soils and is easy to transplant. The tree is naturally found throughout the Ohio River Basin..." - Steve Nix, professional forester, Society of American Foresters
"Pin oak (Quercus palustris), also called swamp oak, water oak, and swamp Spanish oak, is a fast-growing, moderately large tree found on bottom lands or moist uplands, often on poorly drained clay soils. Best development is in the Ohio Valley. The wood is hard and heavy and is used in general construction and for firewood. Pin oak transplants well and is tolerant of the many stresses of the urban environment, so has become a favored tree for streets and landscapes."  - Robert A. McQuilkin, USDA Forest Service

Or are we to believe that native hardwood trees of the sort specifically selected across the country for their urban durability are not the "proper species" for our overpriced, under produced, and now permanently damaged little city pocket park (which just happens to be located in an urban area in the Ohio Valley)?

 

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