PEKIN TREES PLEASE!

In July my wife, Mitzi and I took a road trip to the 100^th annual meeting of Northern Nut Growers at Purdue University. Along the way, we decided to stop at some mature urban plantings to see how seedlings perform long term in the urban environment. We were looking for evidence of trees planted in treeshelters that should be long gone. I was worried I would not be able to find the trees and how would I tell the tree tubed from an ordinary tree. It was easier than I ever imagined. When I saw this tree and I knew it was too small, but it had an early 1990s Tubex Brand Treeshelter. The treeshelter was obviously reused on a new tree. This confirmed the success of the project in the eyes of the residents. I knew then we were on the right street.

The fellow walking into his home confirmed the tree in the foreground was grown in a tree tube. That did it. Time to take pictures. While Mitz moved the car around I snapped away.

Pekin had lost a large number of trees and decided to reforest the city with a lower cost technology that allowed some native trees if the owner wanted them. Small young ornament plants were offered too. These were the small samplings normally grown to large size in a nursery before extraction and planting in the landscape. In Pekin the landscape trees were grown in the landscape and never disturbed by a tree spade.

At www.plantra.com you will find a professionally done video. Just click the video link scroll down for “Tree Please!” The small seedlings were planted on the boulevards around Pekin, IL. and then protected with Tubex Treeshelters. As you can see in the pictures, affluent locations were featured.

I was so excited to see the trees. The trees look great. There are no signs of girdling roots - so common when transplanting large balled and burlap trees. The trees have the same buttressing and taper seen in healthy wild trees. The dense root systems of many large potted or balled trees choke the tree as it grows. Natural trees have wide-open root systems that allow the roots to grow large and old without crowding.

This owner on the left is also doing his tree a great favor by protecting the base from mower damage. Urban trees like the unprotected tree below are bumped and scraped continuously at the ground line. This damage kills the thin layer of living tissue just under the bark. These wounds allow deadly pathogen to enter and weaken the tree. If the damage encircles the tree, the effect is to block transport of water to the leaves and the return of food to the roots. Mulches are effective but require replacement. Personally, I prefer shade tolerant perennials. Hosta plants are a perfect choice is many locations.

The number of gorgeous homes and well cared for trees amazed me. These trees are healthy and add thousands of dollars in value to the homes they serve. Below are some more examples of beautiful homes and gorgeous trees.