Tree News

Google just sent me this tip, but it looks like the proposed tree ordinance for the City of Mountain Park was posted way back in April 2008. Mountain Park has an html version on their website. Reading through the ordinance text it appears that the criteria for specimen trees is based on the City of Alpharetta 's tree ordinance. The proposed ordinance requires that a minimum tree density be retained on residential sites following tree removal activities. Density minimums are an un-grandfathered 400 inches per acre. I also found an unusual component stating that it is a violation to " Attach any sign, notice or other object to any tree or fasten any wires, cables, nails or screws to any tree in a manner that could prove harmful to the tree, except as necessary in conjunction with activities in the public interest. " The penalties section is interesting too. Illegal removal of, or damage to, specimen trees requires replacement equal to five times the value in inches.

Wind and rain related to Tropical Storm Fay may have contributed to the failure of a large oak that crashed into the Plains home of former President Jimmy Carter . The incident occurred Saturday night. Carter's son, Jeff, told the AJC that the tree fell into the house just above the living room. Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter were at home at the time. No personal injuries were reported.

I'm getting reports from farther south that fall webworms are active in their favorite trees: Pecans. Hyphantria cunea is not particularly damaging to trees, but the webs are considered unsightly in the landscape. The insect is a leaf-feeder and does not directly injur other parts of the host plant. I don't recommend any treatment. By the time the webs are noticed, the caterpillars probably have had their fill of leaves. Other trees considered delicious are persimmon, black cherry, Yoshino cherry, sourwood, sweetgum, willow, and red mulberry.

Today's links fall under the category of largest mass - whatever that means. • ScienceRay posts 11 More Spectacular Trees From Around the World . The last tree on the page he names the "Square Knot Tree," but it's actually a Granny knot. • The California Register of Big Trees is a chart with factual information about individual specimens growing on the left coast. • Similar to the above link, American Forests publishes a national register of big trees. • Georgia has its own registry , but there are no photographs online. • Big Trees Forest Preserve is located in Sandy Springs, Georgia. It does in fact have big trees, but they aren't the largest.

The late Dr. Shigo once professed to me "If you want to be an expert, find the 10 most common trees that grow in your region and get to know them. Really, really, get to know them." Being a smart-aleck I asked him if this was some kind of contest or something. Having no sense of humor for my shenanigans, Dr. Shigo explained that I should make a list of the most common trees on my customer's properties and get to work at discovering what makes these trees tick. So here is my top 10 for the Atlanta region: Tulip poplar Sweetgum Water oak Willow oak White oak Southern red oak Post oak Red maple Flowering dogwood Loblolly pine What trees would you add to the list? What trees would you subtract?

Though it is the colossus that shades the streets of Savannah and is the state tree of Georgia, the Live oak Quercus virginiana continues to be overlooked as a potential landscape or specimen tree in Atlanta. Live oaks embody many of the sentimental qualities that are often associated with a southern oak: expansive, rich with character, and hauntingly lyrical with tales to tell of children and families meeting beneath the shadow if its weathered limbs. Its popular detraction is also its greatest asset. Slow growing, but conservative. Yet given the right conditions of bright sunlight, moisture, and well-drained soil, this tree is moderately, even fast-growing, in youth. Over time, this tree can outperform and outlive some of the more cosmopolitan oaks such as Willow oak and the newest urban dweller Nuttall oak . It is a recommended southern landscape tree by Michael Dirr .

Congratulations to Nonot, who's estimate came the closest in May's contest . The Scarlet oak , located just a few miles north of Atlanta, is 42 years old this year. Here is the story of the tree, as told by the woman standing next to the oak: When Fulton County installed the sewer line my children told me to come down and look at the creek where they cut down all the trees. When I walked down there I saw this tree that had been pushed over but the bark wasn't skinned off of it so I dug it up and brought it home and planted it and the other one over there. My neighbors made fun of me and wanted to know why I planted a switch in my front yard. When I planted it, I could reach around it with my thumb and finger like this: [overlapped at first knuckles] So we estimated the tree was about 3 years old when she planted it. That was 39 years ago! tim the shrubber came close, with his guess of 39 years old, which is the age when it was planted. Randy gets special mention for ...