Scenes from our Community Tree Plantings

Here are a few shots from our plantings.

We plant mostly bare-root trees, which retain more of their roots in the harvesting process, and are also easier to handle, being very lightweight, but they are only harvested twice a year, in mid-April, after the ground has thawed at the nursery near Buffalo, N.Y., and in November after leaves have dropped. Here, Director of Urban Foresty points out some new root growth.

The green bags you see on newly planted trees are for drip irrigation. They hold about 20 gallons of water and need to be filled once a week, spring through fall until leaves drop. With a TreeGator (or similar brand) you know the tree is getting 20 gallons; it’s not running off into the street as a sprinkler would.

This was on Princess Ave near Wellington Park in West Newton. We’ve been using snow stakes wherever people are worried about snowplows or keeping trees visible, especially where there is no curbing.

Nate Cenis from Bartlett is a regular volunteer at our plantings.