Sustainable Christmas Trees?

Potted Christmas trees waiting for their forever homes!

For those of you that celebrate the holiday and spend good money on freshly cut trees, why not consider a living Christmas tree this year? You could invest a little more for one that you could later use to improve your landscape, serve as a wind barrier, provide shade, privacy and make the memory of Christmas 2016 last for years to come. There is an organization in California that rents potted Christmas trees. In fact, you can rent the same one, year after year. They even deliver and pick up. I'm not aware of any such business here in Massachusetts, but the living tree concept seems to be catching on. ClickRenting Potted Christmas trees Folks in Canada also appear to be ahead of the game:http://www.evergrowchristmastrees.ca

A Norfolk Pine, one of my living Christmas trees. This one stays indoors year round.

     Since we haven't had a good freeze, now is a good time to dig a hole twice the size of the rootball of your selected evergreen and fill it with mulch until you are ready to plant it after the holiday. Make sure you pick a variety that grows well in our climate. Look around your neighborhood to see what is thriving well and buy a landscape grade specimen in a five to fifteen gallon can. In between transfers from the nursery to your house, and the house to the yard for planting allow a couple of days for the tree to acclimate to the temperature change by storing it in the garage, shed or porch. You can put it in some sort of tub or galvanized container with about two inches of gravel. To keep it evenly moist, spread crushed ice across the top of the rootball and use a rod or pipe to make sure the water level is no higher than the gravel base. While indoors, it should not be placed near any heat vent or the fireplace.
     Your tree should not be kept in your warm home for more than ten days. Plant it right after the holiday, hopefully on a mild day, by putting the rootball into the hole, removing the burlap and backfilling with the soil. Tap it down, give it a good soaking and cover it well with mulch. If you are planting it where there is little wind block, consider putting up some sort of protective barrier to get it through the first winter. If you'd rather not keep the tree, make arrangements to donate it to a local park or contact your favorite group in town, Friends of Newburyport Trees!
     As always, we welcome your donations and consideration to purchase a tree in the memory or honor of a loved one. Send to Box 1155, Newburyport, MA 01950 or visit FONT here.

According to This Old House, the Nordmann  Fir is a good choice for the Northeast region.

Happy Holidays from Kim, Jean, Jane, Hugh and Cris!
   

November 2016 Tree Update

So far this year, Newburyport has lost 132 street trees as all were deemed high hazard by our Tree Warden, Wayne Amaral. Additionally, there are two trees almost directly across from each other on High Street near Twomey Funeral Home that are leaning so severely over the road that they will need to be removed. One is a Northern White Ash that tends to learn towards the light naturally but this year with the stress of the drought, it is now leans at even more precarious angle. The tree across from it is a Maple. Fortunately, despite the horrific conditions this summer, we lost none of our new street trees to the drought thanks to the watering efforts of the contractor and extension into November.

Soon to be removed near Twomey's Funeral Home!

Another recently planted High Street tree met its demise in a car accident. Someone drove up onto the sidewalk, ran over the tree before taking out a huge section of the wrought iron fence in front of the old convent adjacent to the Immaculate Conception Church on Green St. Branches were broken off the top, bark gouged out on the trunk and the rootball was partially uprooted. The Tree Warden will have it replaced.

This High Street tree will be replaced after damaged sustained from a car than lost control, ran it over before taking out a section of the fence behind it.

Fence destroyed in front of the old convent at the corner of High and Green Street.

Trying to keep up with the above losses, the Tree Commission, Department of Public Works and Friends of Newburyport Trees are working collaboratively behind the scenes. As reported in the Daily News, twenty-four more Princeton elms were planted after the completion of the new sidewalks on Green Street, adding to the six that were planted earlier this Fall. The Princeton elms are a hybrid specially bred to resist Dutch elm disease. Two trees were also planted on Merrimack Street on the right hand side just before approaching the round-about near the Chain Bridge.

New trees on Merrimack Street approaching the round-about near the Chain Bridge

Thirty new trees now line Green Street

One of the new Elms planted this month on Green Street after sidewalk work completed

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Plans are in the works for two trees to go in front of the Five Cents Savings bank on State Street, another on Forrester, and this Spring the old Willow stump next to the Bartlet Mall pond will be replaced with a memorial tree, a Copper Beech donated by the Kudym Family in memory of Don Kudym in hopes that it will provide much needed shade for the existing benches on hot summer days.

The stump of old Willow behind the benches will be replaced this Spring with a Copper Beech

     The Horticultural Society has donated four more Cherry Trees to join the hardy Cherry sapling planted this Spring, thanks to the generosity of the Eigerman Family. It should be spectacular some day for the next generation when these trees reach maturity and their blossoms' reflection appear in  the pond below!

An example of a Copper Beach at full maturity as seen on High Street 

Also scheduled for Spring 2017 planting are twenty trees along High Street and nine more throughout the city, all funded by the Bromfield Grant. The Department of Public Works is looking into funding trees on any city streets while they are undergoing construction, except for Water Street where the narrow sidewalks unfortunately leave no room.

Jane Niebling, FONT member is trying for a grant from a local bank to purchase trees and do some attractive landscaping at the triangle in front of the now demolished Famous Pizza. The Community Preservation Commission denied our request for $17.000 this year so this project is on hold. We can thank the CPC however for the trees we now have on Green Street. They allocated CPA funds six years ago but the planting had to be delayed for the sidewalk completion.

Triangle in front of the now demolished Famous Pizza in need of attractive landscaping

For information on how you can contribute to Friends of Newburyport Trees to support our future tree planting projects, you can contact anyone of us: Jane Niebling, Cris Crispin, Hugh Kelleher, Kim Kudym or Jean Berger. Or visit www.Fontrees.org

The Hidden Life of Trees

Maudslay State Park courtesy of Sarah Pflaum

     If you are looking for a holiday gift for a treehugger friend or family member, consider buying The Hidden Life of Trees by  Peter Wohlleben.  National Public Radio interviewed the author last month ( click NPR interview with author )   Many of us choose to live in Newburyport not just because of its historical charm and proximity to the ocean but for the sense of community absent in so many other towns and cities in Massachusetts. We have close knit neighborhoods, walkable streets, establishments you can visit where you are likely to see people you know. It's  a town with a very high level of civic engagement.  According to Wohlleben, trees also connect with one another through an underground fiber optic system of sorts and support each other's growth and well-being, much like strong social ties do for all of us. As we enter an era of continued extreme and unpredictable weather, we may someday need to share commodities  and even house one another in the aftermath of a disastrous future storm. Even our own survival may depend on the communities we have created.
     The following excerpt from page 3 sums it up well. "But why are trees such social beings? Why do they share food with their own species and sometimes even go so far as to nourish their competitors? The reasons are the same as for human communities: there are advantages to working together. A tree is not a forest. On its own a tree can not establish a consistent local climate. But together, many trees create an ecosystem that moderates extremes of heat and cold, stores a great deal of water, and generates a great deal of humidity.  And in this protected environment, trees can live to be very old. To get to this point, the community must remain intact no matter what. If every tree were looking out for only itself, then quite a few of them would never reach old age.  Regular fatalities would result in many large gaps in the tree canopy, which would make it easier for storms to get inside the forest and uproot more trees. The heat of summer would reach the forest floor and dry it out. Every tree would suffer."
   Other recommended tree related readings from your Newburyport Tree Commission and Friends of Newburyport Trees members that would also make excellent holiday gifts are Urban Forests by Jill Jones; The Long, Long Life of Trees by Fiona Stafford; A Natural History of N.American Trees by Donald Curls Beattie and The Tree by John Fowles.  If you are tired of getting the ugly sweater every year, you might even ask your family members to make a charitable gift to FONT instead, or consider donating a Memorial Tree to honor a loved one.  Learn how on our website at www.fontrees.org.  Donations can be sent to FONT, P.O. Box 1155, Newburyport, MA 01950.

Trees in Trouble

   Due to a disconnect between city departments, the majority of the forty-three new trees planted at the Community Senior Center are in serious distress, either dying or already dead. Somehow, a plan was never put in place to see to it that the trees would be watered throughout the summer. Any new street trees planted by the Tree Commission are automatically put into the budget to be watered weekly for a period of two years, the necessary time to establish  an adequate root system so that the trees can ultimately be self-sufficient even in times of drought. However, trees planted under contract at city buildings fall under a different jurisdiction. Over one hundred  new trees at the Bresnahan Elementary School have also been neglected all summer long.  The Senior Center tree situation has now been rectified, the trees have been wrapped with Gator Bags and will be watered weekly for the remainder of the summer.  There is no known plan to water the trees at the Bresnahan School.
     Unfortunately, many of these trees are beyond saving and will need to be replaced. The Tree Commission hopes to be consulted in the future on city projects so that they can collaborate with city officials and developers with some advanced planning to prevent a similar fate.

Dying tree in front of the Senior Community Center

Dying tree at the new Bresnahan

Senior Center Tree near Bresnahan 

Brand new trees struggling at the Bresnahan

Attempt to save this Senior Center tree with a Gator Bag

Cedar near Bresnahan tennis courts

Unlike the trees at the Bresnahan and Senior Center, this Bartlett Mall sapling's watering needs were met by the Tree Commission and has survived nicely during one of the hottest and driest summers on record.

     In other tree related business, the Tree Warden reports that as of Aug 1, eighty-five high hazard trees have been removed already this year, with another fifteen to go. The norm for tree removal per year in Newburyport is fifty to sixty but there has been a backlog of orders from the last three years that are just getting taken care of now. Look for Fall tree planting on Green Street after sidewalk construction is completed. Friends of Newburyport Trees continues to seek out grants and donations to fulfill its goals for new plantings at the gateways to the city on both ends of High Street.
    Donations to Friends of Newburyport Trees are tax deductible and can be sent to FONT, Box 1155, Newburyport, MA 01950.

Tree Hugging at Olde Fashioned Sunday

Friends of Newburyport Trees was available at Olde Fashioned Sunday with educational leaflets about the non-profit's efforts to restore Newburyport's urban forest. Tree shaped lollipops were given away to children after they either answered a tree trivia question correctly, created a poem about a Bartlett Mall tree or chose a tree to hug for a photo. 

Cat girl hugs her favorite tree at Bartlett Mall 

Which country has a whole tree displayed on its flag? How much of the U.S is forested? What temperature difference can there be underneath the shade of a tree from the direct sunlight? In what state does the Pacific Yew Tree grow from which the powerful cancer-fighting drug Taxol is collected? Such were the examples of trivia asked of the kids in exchange for a tree-shaped lollipop. 

Friends of Newburyport Trees volunteers display Newburyport's Tree City Award  while distributing tree-shaped candy to curious kids.

The rain didn't keep everyone away! Crowds moved in later in the day when the skies cleared.

Three friends with Tree pops  

Newburyport Treehuggers: Barry Connell, Jim McCarthy and the Eigerman Family

         Friends of Newburyport Trees has introduced its Treehugger Fundraising Campaign to support the Tree Commission's goal to protect and plant more street trees in Newburyport. Generations to come will enjoy and benefit from a beautiful green canopy across the city.  
     If you are looking for a birthday gift for a friend or family member, we will arrange to come take a photo of the designated person posed with their favorite tree anywhere in the Greater Newburyport area. With a suggested donation of $50, the picture will be added to our newly launched website and also posted on our Facebook page and blog. Alternately, you can submit your own photo with a tree including a brief statement of its history and/or significance to you or your family. 

Jim McCarthy with his favorite tree, a Commemorative Sugar Maple he planted with his dad in 2005 at his Russia Street home.  Then only three inches in diameter, the tree now provides plenty of shade for relaxing with family and friends in their Adirondack chairs

    

  

    Friends of Newburyport Trees' first official Treehugger is Jim McCarthy who devotes much of his time, energy and money to Newburyport. Jim is a pilot for Delta Airlines but when the airlines industry was struggling post 9/11, he started an investment firm, Saltbox Financials. Although Saltbox Financial donated to FoNT for the purchase and planting of a White Oak at the entrance to the Little River Nature Trail and for the beautification project at Rt. 1 Traffic Circle, there is no sign advertising his company at either location. The surplus of signs in public ways is Jim's nemesis. In fact, he has made it his mission to improve the scenery by working with MassDOT, Senator Ives and Mayor Holaday to remove at least a third of the signs on Storey Avenue and the intersection of Route One and Low St. As Jim says, "The culture of signage needs to change."
  Jim personally sees that the new plantings his company donated to the city are watered regularly, arriving with his traveling watering system pictured in last entry of this blog. He also serves as chair of the Planning Board.
 
 

The Commemorative Sugar Maple is a hardy variety that is able to withstand the nearby salting of the streets in Winter. Jim is also proud of the barn he designed with his wife. 

     Thanks in large part to Barry Connell, our longest serving Councilor-at-large, Newburyport trees will have a little more support from the city budget. Barry introduced an order to replace trees removed from public property. It was passed at a May city council meeting with an amendment to enforce only as funds allow. Until this year, The Tree Commission has operated by volunteers without a budget, relying on grants and private donations. The Highway Department has now prioritized collaboration with the Tree Commission to plant 40 new street trees in FY 2017, supported by the mayor and council with an increase in the tree maintenance budget of $20,000 (from $34,500 to $54,500) Mayor Holaday also appropriated a $10,000 line item for the planting and maintenance of trees throughout city parks, a small investment for tremendous long term gain. The absorption of CO2 and storm water that trees provide will save money above and beyond their aesthetic value.
     When Barry is not hugging trees, serving his constituents, or working at his full time job, he trains for the Pan-Mass Challenge Bike-a-thon to support The Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

 

Barry Connell hugging his Japanese Maple, a fond reminder of his favorite tree at his ancestral home in New Jersey. He and his wife, Susan planted the tiny sapling thirty years ago shortly after they purchased their Woodland Street home.

Barry Connell's second favorite tree, a Copper Beech across the street. 

This Hawthorne Tree planted in front of Barry Connell's house has been the unfortunate victim of Winter Moths. The tree, fondly nicknamed Nathaniel also suffers from Scoliosis despite the family's intervention with stakes. 

     Sincere appreciation also goes to Jared and Andrea Eigerman who have donated generously to Friends of Newburyport Trees to cover the cost of the planting, watering and maintenance of a new Cherry Tree on the south side of The Bartlet Mall. Andrea and Jared both devote countless hours of their time to the city. While Jared is our Ward 2 Councilor and chair of the Ad-hoc Waterfront Committee, Andrea chairs the Bartlet Mall Commission and supports The Newburyport Parks Conservancy, its fund-raising mechanism. Don't miss their July 2 Blues Festival on the waterfront from 4-8 P.M!
   The Eigermans share a backyard with the Horan family at 83-85 High Street. The family of  Dr. Howard Rogers and wife, Dr. Councilman who resided there from roughly 1930 through 1980 recently asked Jared about the Copper Beech Tree pictured below behind the Eigermans. The tree is their fondest memory of this home.  
    Jared discovered another former homeowner, Claudette Moore whom he met to return a piece of mail delivered to their address had placed a conservation restriction on the tree, now so large that cable ties are necessary to support one of the limbs. It was likely planted in the early 1800's when the home was a private school for boys and girls known as The Newburyport Academy.

Meet The Eigerman Family: Imre, Jared, Beatrix, Andrea and Ted in front of a Copper Beech Tree in their shared backyard with the Horan Family at 83 and 85 High Street. 

Copper Beech Trees have the best bark for carving your name or initials.  Many of the neighborhood kids, past and present have taken full advantage!

     All donations to the 2016 Newburyport Treehugger Fundraiser are tax deductible  Checks payable to Friends of Newburyport Trees can be sent to Box 1155, Newburyport, MA 01950 or visit our website, www.fontrees.org to donate through PayPal. Please consider becoming an official Newburyport Treehugger or nominating a friend or family member with a suggested donation of $50. 
      For more information, write to the address above, call 978-462-2973 or email kimkudym@comcast.net. 

Time to Water, Water, Water!!

   Summer is here and the need to water any recently planted trees and shrubs is crucial.  Regular watering after planting encourages the roots to establish faster.  The less established the tree, the quicker its rootball will dry out especially during times of high heat and drought.  The soil should be kept moist two inches below the surface which may require daily watering for young trees during their first two summers. Mulching is especially important during this time to help the soil retain its moisture.

Ruby showcasing our homemade double rain barrel system. Overflow from the barrel under the gutter spout funnels in to the second through a connecting PCV pipe. With both barrels we are able to water our houseplants and our new trees as well keep our kiddie (doggy) pool filled all spring and summer. Our water and sewer bill is amazingly low, even with the rate increases.

Cris Miller, chair of the Tree Commission, demonstrates how a Gator Bag works. The  bag zips up around the tree and has a 20 gallon pouch with tiny holes around the bottom edge. The water slowly drips onto the soil over a period of five or six hours, soaking to depth of the rootball. The bag should be refilled a minimum of twice a week, if not more when rainfall is scarce.

Twenty seven trees were planted a couple years ago at Kelleher Park and only eleven have survived due to insufficient watering. This spring, the Tree Commission placed a Gator Bag on each tree and volunteer Scott Hanley has agreed to fill the bags each week using the city's watering truck. 

There are at least eighty new street trees throughout the city that now require frequent watering. The city of Newburyport has hired a watering contractor, Mark Godfroy of Lady Tracey Ann, Inc to fulfill this task.  His Newburyport rounds take him a couple of hours, not including the time to refill the tanks to finish the job. 

Mark's assistant, Fonzy, at the Department of Public Works water pump fills up each of the two two hundred fifty gallon tanks on Mark's truck. Until now, they have been watering every two weeks. They will refill the Gator Bags weekly throughout July and August. 

This is Mark's first season working for Newburyport. He services several other towns and cities. 

Curious DPS employee

The first stop on the watering route is Perry Way. There are four new saplings across from the River Valley Charter School. 

Fonzy wishes there were Gator Bags back when he planted a Birch Tree in his yard. It was a hot summer and the tree didn't survive. 

Jim McCarthy came up with an ingenious setup to get water delivered to the Little River Nature Trail entrance on Storey Ave. He does not want this young White Oak to suffer the same fate as Fonzy's Birch Tree. Thanks to Jim's donation to Friends of Newburyport Trees, the Tree Commission was able to purchase and plant the oak this Spring.

Jim fills up the cooler with his garden hose at home and slides it to the edge of his truck to reach the Gator Bag.  He also uses this system to water his beautification project at the Rt. 1 Traffic Circle. 

 Above and beyond the cost of purchasing and planting each tree, $240 per tree is budgeted by the Tree Commission to water, prune and mulch it for two years. Friends of Newburyport Trees is a non-profit group that supports this effort of the Tree Commission with fund-raising, grants and individual contributions. Donations to FoNT can be sent to Box 1155, Newburyport, MA 01950 or through PayPal at  www.fontrees.org. Our supporters are encouraged to send in pictures of themselves, pets, friends and family posed with their favorite tree to add to our website as we begin to update it. For more information, contact kimkudym@comcast.net.

Tree Upkeep: Rain or Shine

Jean Berger mulches an Elm in front of the Home for Aged Men

     Volunteers including members of the Tree Commission and Friends of Newburyport Trees could be seen around the city this week pruning and mulching the most recently planted street trees. Coinciding with Earth Day and Arbor Day, the crew set out on two consecutive Saturdays, April 23 and 30th to prune and mulch hundreds of trees while also assessing the health of each one. As some species survive better than others in certain conditions, occasionally it is  determined that a tree needs to be replaced. The information gained on these pruning visits provides useful data for future planning and tree selection.

    Too often, municipalities will replace trees with new saplings and fail to provide their proper care. The trees die and taxpayer money is lost. When trees are planted by the Newburyport Tree Commission, they are watered weekly from May to September except in times of heavy rainfall for the first two years when the their root structure is in the most important growth stage. (Arbor Day Foundation's 9 Tree Care Tips and Techniques) Deep watering is more important than frequency and the mulch helps the soil retain the water.

Paul Bevilaqua, Mary Jo Ficocello, Tim Heatwole, Dave Dylewski, Crispin Miller and Jean Berger ready to work

Another High Street Elm is pruned by Tim Heatwole. The tree has grown almost an inch in diameter each year since it was planted six years ago. 

Paul Bevilacqua and Sheila Taintor  mulching a Hedge Maple on Frances Drive. 

The Hawthorne on Lavalley Lane in the rear is not doing as well as the one in the foreground. The Tree Commissioners will be less likely to choose this species for future plantings. 

Tim Heatwole prunes one of the Tulip Trees that were planted by the Tree Commission all along the street side of Belleville Cemetery a few years ago.

Tulip Tree budding on April 23, 2016 at Belleville Cemetery

Cris Miller prepares to mulch a thriving Horse Chestnut Tree. It seems like just yesterday some of us were chucking chestnuts at our friends or lining them up in the street to watch cars squish them,  pre-video game pastimes, but the Asian Bark Fungus destroyed most of the old growth trees.

Byron Getchell pruning A Red Oak near the corner of Ferry Road and Moseley Ave. Byron works for Northeast Nursery and is on the Newburyport Tree Commission.

Byron and Cris discover dying Cherry Trees on Ferry Road and Roosevelt Ave. They needed severe pruning and in one case will need to be replaced by a different species. The homeowner at 9 Roosevelt Ave avoided this fate by calling Dave Dylewski two years ago to report that the tree appeared sick. Dave sprayed the tree and it is is now flowering beautifully. (pictured below)

Healthy Cherry Tree on Roosevelt Ave.

This Ferry Road Elm Tree was planted a few years ago but during the construction of a new sidewalk, some of its roots were severed. 

Mrs. Kirkpatrick uses a gator bag to release water slowly into the soil for her Kwanzan Cherry  Tree. She bought one and the city donated a second for this location on Moseley Avenue.

Jane Niebling is happy with the growth of this Trident Maple she planted at Park Circle. Thanks to Jane, after 57 years, I now know how to use pruning shears. She thought that it was something I should know as a tree volunteer. I was sort of hoping I could just keep standing around watching everyone else  but I guess those days are over.

Not all the trees are doing well at Park Circle. This Hornbeam Tree on Storey Ave should have received better care after it was planted. Friends of Newburyport Trees will provide helping hands from now on!

Friends of Newburyport Trees is dedicated to preserving and protecting the urban forest which includes this community garden at Park Circle. Last year, one of the residents had great success with his south facing garden in front of this building and was able to share surplus vegetables with residents in the Y.W.C.A housing units. Hopefully, the water will be turned on soon so that spring planting may begin! 

Ed Taylor, one of the founders of FoNT with Mary Jo Ficocello working on a High Street Elm.  Utility wires are always a problem for street trees. 

Mary Jo Ficocello prunes this Honey Locust that provides shade for pedestrians.

River Valley Charter School joined forces with FoNT and the Tree Commission to fill in this median strip on Perry Way with new plantings.

Students from River Valley Charter School learn about tree planting

 Finished Project on Perry Way! 

If City Council approves an order introduced by Councilor Barry Connell at the April 25th meeting, all trees that are removed due to hazard or disease will be replaced. Click here to read April 29, 2016 Daily News article about the Tree Replacement Order. The public can attend any upcoming meeting of the Neighborhood and City Services committee where the order will be discussed before being presented to the full council for a vote.

Please visit the new Friends of Newburyport Trees website!