permaculture

["Lawrence F. London, Jr." <lflj@intrex.net>]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Urban Landscape Trees Sought
Date: Thu, 11 Oct 2007 08:18:26 -0400
From: ARS News Service <NewsService@ars.usda.gov>
Reply-To: ARS News Service <NewsService@ars.usda.gov>
To: ARS News subscriber <lflj@bellsouth.net>

STORY LEAD:
Wanted: Trees for Urban Landscapes
___________________________________________

ARS News Service
Agricultural Research Service, USDA
Ann Perry, (301) 504-1628, ann.perry@ars.usda.gov
October 11, 2007
--View this report online, plus photos and related stories, at 
www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr
___________________________________________

Imagine this "wanted" ad: Horticulturalists in search of small- to medium-sized, pest-resistant, low-maintenance trees 
that thrive in the face of environmental extremes. Must be able to tolerate foot traffic, storms, drought, car exhaust, 
insects and dogs. Good looks--springtime blossoms, shapely crowns, brilliant fall foliage--a plus.

Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientist John Hammond set out to make a lifelong match: trees that can survive 
years of service shading city sidewalks or traffic median strips. Hammond, who heads the ARS Floral and Nursery Plants 
Research Unit in Beltsville, Md., is in charge of the "Power Trees Project."

For four years, Hammond has worked with federal, state and local partners to find trees that can keep their good looks 
and hold their own against urban stresses. Pick the wrong candidate, and a tree can grow too large for the space it 
occupies. Then it may have to be severely pruned--or even removed entirely--to accommodate utility lines or other 
structures. Or it may be vulnerable to pests, diseases and storm damage.

Hammond’s team has found nine good street tree candidates in the U.S. National Arboretum’s cultivar collection, 
including varieties of red maple, crape myrtle, crab apple, flowering cherry and elm. Most mature at less than 25 feet 
and thrive in a range of U.S. hardiness plant zones.

Hammond and other ARS scientists are also investigating how a tree’s early cultivation method--either in a nursery 
container or by in-ground planting--affects its street survival. In initial tests, container-started trees outperformed 
in-ground trees, in part because container-grown trees don’t undergo root damage from being dug up and bound in burlap 
for transport. The researchers will now assess whether these early performance indicators are maintained as the trees 
mature.

With a bit of help, trees will continue to provide the tangible and intangible benefits that people expect--and 
enjoy--from their green surroundings.

Read more about this research in the October 2007 issue of Agricultural 
Research magazine, available online at:
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/oct07/trees1007.htm

ARS is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific research agency.

___________________________________________

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__________________________________________
ARS News Service, Information Staff, Agricultural Research Service
5601 Sunnyside Ave., Room 1-2251, Beltsville MD 20705-5128
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Phone (301) 504-1638 | fax (301) 504-1486

--
Lawrence F. London, Jr.
lflj@intrex.net
Venaura Farm http://venaurafarm.blogspot.com
Agriculture, Market Farming & Permaculture
http://www.ibiblio.org/ecolandtech