Tree Committee Report: January 27, 2009

Ginger Kryger, chair of Ruston's tree committee, offered this report of their meeting this last Tuesday:
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Lynette (Hopkins), Sue (Hines), Rob (Zehel) and I did meet last night. We did not submit a budget request at the end of last year, which is probably a good thing. From what I read in the Town newsletter, the budget crunch will hit almost every aspect of the Town’s workings.

We are still in the process of research and organization so I guess we are still in study-session mode. There were originally 5 (types 0f) trees recommended for the planting strips. We are looking at those closely to determine if we are in agreement with that list.

As you are well aware, some of the ‘Kwanzan’ cherry trees on Winnifred did not make it. They were planted as bare-root trees. Rob says that one authority he spoke with said that it is not unusual to have a 50% loss rate on that type of planting…so I suppose that Ruston ’s trees did pretty good. At least 4 that I know of were put into beds with the cinder-rock mulch, and those died pretty quickly.

So…what killed the trees? Was it disease, lack of water, too much water, poor mulching material or something else? The best course of action would be to try to determine that first, try to remedy the situation, and then determine what to do about replacement. This, we are finding, is no small task.

We will be meeting once a quarter. Our task before the next meeting is to familiarize ourselves with recommended (from other towns) trees in order to make an informed decision about varieties that will work here in Ruston as well as their costs. With Town development, it is important to have “the list” ready so developers can plan appropriately for their projects. We also need to find possible alternate ways to pay for the plant material as well as soil amendments and labor to remove old trees and replant new ones.

The next section of town for tree replacement is N. Winnifred Street from N. 49th to N. 51st. Our hope is to have budget requests for implementation of that stage ready by the fall of this year. Citizens can contact the Town Hall with questions or comments. (253-759-3544)