Over 30 trees were replaced on Montrose Boulevard after many died or struggled to survive in the summer heat.
Growing challenges
During an Oct. 21 Montrose Redevelopment Authority meeting, Michael Robinson, a landscape architect and principal with SWA Group, which designed the project’s landscaping, said his firm’s assessment concluded that the trees were not being watered properly.
“It is unfortunate that the trees perished,” Robinson said.
Robinson said the planting schedule also may have been part of the problem. The project specifications call for trees to be planted between Oct. 1 and Feb. 28, which he described as the ideal planting window. Planting later in the season, when temperatures begin to rise, can make it more difficult for trees to establish themselves, he said.
The new trees should have a better opportunity to take root because they were installed at the start of the planting season, assuming they receive proper watering and maintenance, Robinson said.
What’s changing?
The project team introduced additional watering measures for the replacement trees, including Gator bags that will be filled daily unless adequate rainfall makes watering unnecessary.
The bags gradually release water to the trees’ roots. Watering tubes installed near the ground also allow workers to deliver water closer to the roots and check moisture conditions.
Robinson said another issue involved the mounds of soil built around the bases of trees to help hold water. When crews used hoses to water the trees from trucks, the force of the water washed away those mounds, making it harder for water to collect and seep into the root zones.
The Montrose Boulevard project has a four-year watering period, compared with the two years typically required, Robinson said. The longer period was recommended because of the area's high profile and the importance of establishing healthy trees.
Also of note
The number of trees originally planted, the total number that died or required replacement, and the cost of the replacements were not specified during the meeting.
