Arbor Day Celebrated with Native Keystone Quercus rubra (Northern Red Oak)
The City of Rye celebrated Arbor Day by a planting native keystone species Quercus rubra (Northern Red Oak) in Disbrow Park on Monday afternoon. Oak trees are considered keystone species for providing the greatest array of ecosystem services for critters including bees, butterflies, moths and birds.
“We as a department, like to think that we reflect the values of the community, and in doing so, like to plant numerous trees,” said Ryan Coyne, Rye City Engineer and Head of the DPW said to the assembled crowd of citizens, advocates and city officials. “We’ve been up over 150 a year for the last few years. Hopefully we can get above 200 going forward. So native first, and let’s get them in the ground.”
Rye Mayor reminded residents they can request a native tree be planted in the City right-of-way in the front of their property. There is no cost to the program, and residents can request a tree by emailing Interim City Manager Brian Shea (bshea@ryeny.gov). Some of the native trees available include Serviceberry (Amelanchier laevis), Eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis) and Flowering dogwood (Cornus florida). The City’s tree forman Bill Weeks will make certain you have a tree suitable for the conditions in your yard. Learn about these and other natives in our Going Native series.
The City once again renewed its Tree City USA designation from the Arbor Day Foundation. This requires establishing a tree board or department, adopting a public tree care ordinance, allocating a community forestry budget of at least $2 per capita and holding and annual arbor day observance.
In closing, tree forman Bill Weeks demonstrated how to properly plant a new tree. Many, many landscapers do not plant trees correctly, leading to their failure. One of the most common mistakes in the placement of a “mulch volcano” around the base of the tree, covering the root flare, causing rot and ultimately failure of the entire tree. Watch Weeks’ demo at the 11:00 minute mark:
