Tree News

Every tree-loving Atlantan knows about the Cherry Blossom Festival. Many have even attended the annual spring event in Macon, GA . The event celebrates the seasonal flowering of Yoshino cherry trees , and has been around for 24 years attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors during its 10-day stretch. The Yoshino cherries, though, are in trouble. Macon residents, and the Macon City forester Mike Huffman, are well aware that this species of cherry is not a long-lived tree in middle Georgia. In fact, most of the 350,000 Yoshinos (yes, that many!) throughout Macon were all planted about about 35 years ago. This means that many of the trees are in varying stages of environmentally enduced decline , succumbing to the hot, dry summers of the region. The Cherry Blossom Festival board has asked the city to begin monitoring the cherry tree population - possibly using GPS tracking for monitoring, routine inspections, and citizen education for the care of privately owned trees. The Festi...

The Arborist Division of the Atlanta Bureau of Buildings has pledged to speed up the plan review process for certain projects. Ainsley Caldwell, the new arboricultural manager for the division, has created a "No Trees Impacted" exception for plans. Normally, all trees that have any type of impact within their critical root zone must have an impact percentage calculated and noted on the site plans. The City requires a prescription for a tree when the impact ranges between 20 and 33 percent. Apparently, the new provision will allow for a site plan to state that no trees will be impacted when the calculated percentage is less than 20%. This could help some site designers turn around their work product faster when there are no trees present on the site, or if the trees will only be minimally impacted. The "No Trees Impacted" exception is part of Atlanta's Permitting Improvement Project initiated in April 2006. The goal of the project is to decrease the time ...

On March 13, the Georgia Senate failed to pass a bill that had significant implications to local tree, landscape and stream buffer ordinances. Although it would not have affected the current state regulations for streambanks and buffers, it would have prevented municipalities from enacting more restrictive or protective streambank ordinances beyond the state minimum. It also would have precluded local governments from enacting or enforcing tree removal ordinances that affect individual homeowners, such as the City of Atlanta's tree ordinance. Conservation groups and supporters of tree ordinances are likely breathing a sigh of relief. SB294 was primarily authored by senator Chip Pearson, of Dawnsonville, and was strongly opposed by such groups as the Georgia Chapter of the Sierra Club and Athens Grow Green Coalition.

Here is more information regarding the safety of tree mulch products shipped from the southern US.

If you know of a big tree, secretly growing in your backyard or in the corner of a neighborhood park, its time to get the word out to Atlanta. Trees Atlanta and the Arbor Day Partners are looking for the largest tree of each native species inside I-285. The Big Tree Search recognizes the trees, and publically maintains an updated list of the champions. The 2006 search appears to have wrapped up for this year (the deadline for entries was in February), so the new winners will likely be announced soon. If you missed your chance this year, submit a nomination form for 2007. The Big Tree Search was formerly administered by Park Pride .

An unsubstantiated warning is spreading throughout gardening and landscape circles, via a rediculous email - Mulch shipped from the Katrina areas of the US may contain the Formosan Termite and could damage your house and trees. While the Formosan Termite is a problem in the lower latitudes of the US, it does not threaten the Atlanta area. Atlanta is too far north and we have too many cold spells to allow the termite eggs to hatch. In addition, the adults are unlikely to survive the mulch shredding process. After the shredding, mulch begins to compost automatically. Composting creates very high temperatures, in excess of 120 F, at which no remaining termite could escape! The Houston Chronicle , and subsequently Snopes.com , have put this rumor to rest. Now what about regular termites here in Atlanta? Do they pose a threat? No. Termites need structure. Tree mulch does not provide the structure, such as a long wood beam or railroad tie, in which to build their galleries. Mulc...

Georgia's newest city is preparing to be a haven for tree-lovers. In keeping with the precedents of Atlanta and surrounding communities, Sandy Springs, the seventh-largest city in Georgia, also has a tree ordinance. The Sandy Springs Tree ordinance currently looks familiar - it is nearly identical to the Fulton County Tree Ordinance from which it was born. Aside from some different administrative guidelines, the ordinance is the same. But don't expect it to stay that way. On February 18, the City Council will hold a public meeting to solicit input for revisions to the ordinance. The City has hired Michael Barnett as the City Arborist. Barnett brings a wealth of practical experience to the adminsitration and enforcement of the City's tree ordinance. He was formerly an Arborist with Fulton County (working in the Sandy Springs area), and the Director of Horticulture at Zoo Atlanta. Sandy Springs has traditionally been a hotspot of concern for trees. Groups such as Keep ...