Ornamental Cherry Trees

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Originally uploaded by P_Linehan.

These beautiful cherry trees were in full bloom today outside the Shippensburg Borough Police Department. At first I thought they were the result of years of intense pruning. It turns out that these Weeping Higan Cherry (Prunus subhirtella) trees are the result of numerous branches grafted to a single stem. They certainly add a dramatic element to the landscape.

New York City Parks

This past weekend I visited New York City and had the chance to visit several of the parks including Central Park. This Google map shows some of the areas I visited. An urban park is a very challenging environment for trees, shrubs, and turf. They can be easily loved to death from people and pets. Fencing helps keep people in the right places and protects areas that need to be protected so that they can regenerate.


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Burn Pile Service Project

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Originally uploaded by P_Linehan.

Penn State Mont Alto forestry students are lighting the burn pile on the nursery field. Volunteers will work shifts all weekend to guard the fire. Much of this material came from the ice storm last December that cut power to campus over a whole weekend. Bring on the hot dogs!

Find more of the pictures on Facebook or Flickr.

Anne Frank Chestnut Tree

One of the first blog entries I made last year was on the chestnut tree outside the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam. This was the tree she mentioned frequently in her diary during her family's two year hiding from the Nazis.

The city of Amsterdam wants to remove the tree because of its advanced state of decay. Now, a year later, people who want to save the tree have sued to prevent it being cut. After hearing arguments on both sides a judge ordered the city to hold off until February. Here is a link to a BBC story on the tree.

It's interesting that the managers of the Anne Frank Museum at the house want the tree removed to prevent injury to visitors. They would rather replant a new, healthy tree. Sounds like a good idea to me.

Dawn Redwood in Massachussetts

While visiting family in Westfield, MA I came across this fine example of a dawn redwood. It is located in a small park that is slated to be removed to accommodate a new bridge crossing. The city is trying to decide what to do with the tree. Dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides) is a fast growing deciduous conifer that was discovered in China in the 1940's and had been considered extinct before. It grows very well in urban settings, although there have been problems with vigor from hybrid inbreeding.

According to a recent article in Westfield's newspaper, The Republican, the city now has to decide how to save the tree or whether to cut it down.
Thanks to Chris Morrill for showing me this tree.

Grafting Workshop

Students in Dr. Brantley's Plant biology class got a lesson in tree grafting from Jack Winieski (Allegany SAF Executive Director) and Bruce Kile (retired PA Service Forester). In these pictures they are working on pine trees. In a later session they worked on apple trees. Grafting is as much an art as a science and takes a great deal of skill and experience. Thanks Jack and Bruce for your help.

(pictures by Bruce Kile)

Tree Risk Assessment Workshop

 

 

 

Arborists from Bartlett Tree Experts led a tree risk assessment seminar at Mont Alto this past Wednesday, April 18. About twenty park managers from Pennsylvania DCNR and thirty forestry students attended. As part of the workshop trees around campus were evaluated for health and safety.

Tree Removal at Mont Alto

Old trees may be our friends, especially on a college
campus. But when the trees are weakened by disease
and age they become a hazard to all. Here is an example
of a removal of two trees on the Penn State Mont Alto
campus.

Unlike a forest where the logger can fell a tree with a
chainsaw and yell "Timber!", an arborist needs to take
a tree apart branch by branch to prevent damage to
surrounding buildings and the landscape.

Ann Frank Chestnut Tree to be Cut Down

Officials in Amsterdam have concluded that the Anne Frank chestnut tree is too badly infected to be saved and should be cut down. According to news accounts the 150-170 year old tree has been attacked has been attacked by an aggressive fungus and a moth, called the horse chestnut leaf miner.

In her diary, written while her family was hiding from the Nazis in an apartment in a nearby warehouse the teenage Anne wrote movingly how the tree inspired her and gave her hope.

Here is a link to a website with information on the tree and the people it has inspired. Officials at the Anne Frank museum are planning to plant a new chestnut sapling after the old tree has been removed in the next few weeks.