I see a lot of talk on the forum about urban trees, forestry, tree canopies, etc. Given their importance in making cities more livable as well as addressing climate change and heat island issues, plus the complications of above-ground utility wires, we really ought to have thread about this topic. So, here we go, starting with a scene from Utrecht and @createstreets.....

 

Wow! What a difference! I'll start off with a positive post because there's a lot of negative regarding tree canopy in the CLE. Lakewood seems to be on an all-out push to recover it's tree canopy. Although we have been losing the big oaks along Clifton, once they are cut down, the hollow trunks reveal that they were on their way out naturally anyway. It seems the city is doing a great job of replacing what is cut down and then a lot more beyond that. The newsletter they just sent said they planted over 400 trees in 2020. 

Second that on Lakewood. Our street has lost a lot of big trees, but the city has been busy planting on the tree lawns.  They planted one on ours about three years ago, but the deer got to it.  They've replaced it with another, and so far we have managed to keep the deer from eating it (the deer eat our tulips and hostas instead)

The deer got my tree I planted in my own yard too...I see why people shoot them

Here's a good resource for looking at the tree canopy in Cleveland: 

https://www.countyplanning.us/projects/urban-tree-canopy-assessment-update/urban-tree-canopy-assessment-update-cleveland-neighborhoods/

 

Here's another:

http://www.clevelandtrees.org/cleveland-tree-plan/cleveland-tree-plan-2020-tree-canopy-progress-report/

 

Change from 2011-2017, I think the same trends have generally continued in the last few years, though programs to reverse some of them have started. See links. 

 

 

Update from 2020 report

 

 

 

 

 

Cleveland Tree Canopy Revitalization Program: If you live in Cleveland you might be able to get a free tree planted! see below.

 

https://clecityhall.com/2020/10/05/city-of-cleveland-now-accepting-requests-for-the-tree-canopy-revitalization-program/

 

 

Edited January 8, 20223 yr by Ethan

Cuyahoga County announces $950,000 in awards to plant 3,400 trees in urban areas.

 

https://www.cleveland.com/news/2022/04/cuyahoga-county-authorizes-950000-to-plant-3400-trees-in-urban-areas.html

I hope they use a good chunk of that to fund the necessary watering so that a bunch of the new trees don’t die. 

The goal is to boost tree cover in urban areas, and areas with low/shrinking tree cover, right? Why (per the map "401-920)) is the largest group of trees going to Hunting Valley? Limited resources being spent on the richest and greenest municipality in the county (state?)... I sure hope there's a good reason behind it.

2 hours ago, PoshSteve said:

The goal is to boost tree cover in urban areas, and areas with low/shrinking tree cover, right? Why (per the map "401-920)) is the largest group of trees going to Hunting Valley? Limited resources being spent on the richest and greenest municipality in the county (state?)... I sure hope there's a good reason behind it.

 

Yes, almost nothing for Cleveland.

This is such a problem in so many areas. Parts of Columbus look like they are almost new neighborhoods-houses that are 100 years old looking like they have just been plunked down in brand new areas. And it is not just the trees. It seems that when older homeowners die too many homes get bought and turned into rentals and every tree, shrub, etc. is cut down to reduce maintenance and the places look bare and naked. 

 

And it is not just in the oldest areas. On the street I grew up on(homes built in the 60's)the number of trees has dramatically declined. Where nearly every yard had a shade tree, now there are stretches where there are a half dozen homes in a row with no trees in the front(and often none in the back), and limited shrubbery or greenery except that worst of greenery-suburban lawn. 

 

 

It is just sad to see it. 

 

*and of course it seems to be the worst by far in lower to middle income areas, neighborhoods that have undergone socio-economic change and have become poorer. It is just another reminder of how the middle class is disappearing. Wealthier green lush areas, and increasingly barren not so wealthy areas. 

Edited April 10, 20223 yr by Toddguy

7 hours ago, Toddguy said:

 

And it is not just in the oldest areas. On the street I grew up on(homes built in the 60's)the number of trees has dramatically declined. Where nearly every yard had a shade tree, now there are stretches where there are a half dozen homes in a row with no trees in the front(and often none in the back), and limited shrubbery or greenery except that worst of greenery-suburban lawn. 

 

 

And then everyone complains and wonders why their summer electric bills are so high

There used to be a thing around town where if someone couldn't buy a new house they would cut down all the trees so that it would be more like a new house. I've had several conversations with people who thought like that.

19 hours ago, GCrites80s said:

There used to be a thing around town where if someone couldn't buy a new house they would cut down all the trees so that it would be more like a new house. I've had several conversations with people who thought like that.

omg....There are really no words...

19 hours ago, GCrites80s said:

There used to be a thing around town where if someone couldn't buy a new house they would cut down all the trees so that it would be more like a new house. I've had several conversations with people who thought like that.

Such foolish thinking.  Personally, I don't like seeing homes with no "mature" growth and little more than recent plantings from a garden-type store.  The property looks bare.

 

There are other reasons for the loss of the tree canopy.  I love seeing the streets with tall trees lining each side.  Unfortunately, the young saplings that were planted when the neighborhoods were new are now are choked within the narrow strip of tree lawn between the curbs and sidewalks.  Utility companies hack some of these trees in hideous manners to provide clearance for wires.  Being so close to the roadways exposes them to chemicals and exhaust from roads and vehicles.  Now there is the threat of fungus, diseases and various non-native insects.  Several years ago, I had to cut down several ash trees in my yard.  The insects hit them fast.  I had no reasonable choice as they were dead or dying.    In addition, many of these trees that are well-established communities are either nearing the end of their lifespans or have been substantially weakened by decay. 

3 hours ago, LifeLongClevelander said:

Such foolish thinking.  Personally, I don't like seeing homes with no "mature" growth and little more than recent plantings from a garden-type store.  The property looks bare.

 

There are other reasons for the loss of the tree canopy.  I love seeing the streets with tall trees lining each side.  Unfortunately, the young saplings that were planted when the neighborhoods were new are now are choked within the narrow strip of tree lawn between the curbs and sidewalks.  Utility companies hack some of these trees in hideous manners to provide clearance for wires.  Being so close to the roadways exposes them to chemicals and exhaust from roads and vehicles.  Now there is the threat of fungus, diseases and various non-native insects.  Several years ago, I had to cut down several ash trees in my yard.  The insects hit them fast.  I had no reasonable choice as they were dead or dying.    In addition, many of these trees that are well-established communities are either nearing the end of their lifespans or have been substantially weakened by decay. 

My brother had all ash trees in his yard and he lost them all. The one at the home I grew up at is still there-it has some resistance somehow. I have also seen a huge number of dead and dying pines and spruce-don't know if it is climate change related or what. The biggest problem is we are losing way more urban/suburban trees than are being planted to replace them. 

 

It is particularly galling to me to see old established neighborhoods with alleys and back garages and homes over 100 years old bare, naked of trees and stripped of greenery except for the ecological disaster that is called lawn.

Ashville lost almost all of its trees in a pre-emptive strike against the ash borer several years ago. It looks terrible and they haven't planted enough new ones.

1 hour ago, Toddguy said:

My brother had all ash trees in his yard and he lost them all. The one at the home I grew up at is still there-it has some resistance somehow. I have also seen a huge number of dead and dying pines and spruce-don't know if it is climate change related or what. The biggest problem is we are losing way more urban/suburban trees than are being planted to replace them. 

 

It is particularly galling to me to see old established neighborhoods with alleys and back garages and homes over 100 years old bare, naked of trees and stripped of greenery except for the ecological disaster that is called lawn.

I once lost an arborvitae.  It was infested with spider mites.  It is amazing that something the size of tip of pin, granted in large numbers, can kill one.  The amazing thing is the one right next to it was perfectly fine.

 

Unfortunately, many of the old neighborhoods have trees that are just as old as the surrounding houses.  Urban environments are stressful on them, but there comes a time when they can only survive so long.  It seems like every major wind storm takes out numerous towering old trees in cities like Lakewood and Cleveland Heights.  When they split open, many it is amazing they have held up as long as they have.  No matter if it is storm related or as a preventative measure, the trees that come down need to be replaced.  They just need to be replaced with native species and not the fast growing, weak stuff.  A canopy can appear to be restored, but the fast-growing trees have extremely weak wood that doesn't stand up well to winds or are susceptible to disease or insects. 

 

Then there are people who just don't want everything that comes with them, which is bothersome.  They don't want to clean up seeds or leaves.  In the older neighborhoods, the sewer lines frequently are joined clay tile.  They are root magnets.  Either the lines need regular cleaning or potential expensive replacement. 

Edited April 12, 20223 yr by LifeLongClevelander

 

I have some variety of pear tree on my tree lawn.  It has nice white flowers in the spring, but they stink.

3 minutes ago, LibertyBlvd said:

I have some variety of pear tree on my tree lawn.  It has nice white flowers in the spring, but they stink.

If you own your property, it might be a good idea to get rid of it. It is almost certainly a Callery pear and they are an invasive species that, as noted in a post above, is about to be banned. 

 

I see them everywhere now when they are blooming-entire fields are covered with them. They do not contribute much to the environment and outgrow and crowd out native species. 

 

*stinking white flowers mean it is almost certainly a Callery pear. They are also not nice trees as they are not particularly long lived and usually have weak branch attachments and angles and can be torn up in storms. They often have a symmetrical appearance and the storm damage therefore disfigures them.

 

Unfortunately, these trees have been planted everywhere in Ohio.

The problem is birds love the "pears" which are actually small hard berries so they eat them and poop their seeds all over the place and create the completely overgrown single species thickets that appear in spaces that didn't have much tree competition. In the spring you see how many of them have popped up along highways and ramps where they have basically taken over for honeysuckle as the dominant sh*tty invasive plant that blocks out the sun from new trees. They even have thorns just to make them even more horrible and hard to remove. 

Are those the ones that smell like come? Portsmouth had those and some friends from NE Ohio knew about them. I had never experienced that as someone from Columbus before but they had.

^ https://www.vice.com/en/article/7x4zza/heres-why-the-trees-on-your-street-smell-like-semen

 

On 4/14/2022 at 11:38 PM, buckeye1 said:

^ https://www.vice.com/en/article/7x4zza/heres-why-the-trees-on-your-street-smell-like-semen

 

I have a semi-dwarf fruiting pear tree blooming now and it has never had a bad smell. I have also been around the Callery pears when they are blooming(like right now)and I don't smell any bad smell for some reason. But I believe everyone else who says they stink. And the poster who mentioned the thorns was quite right-these wild kinds that come from the seeds are nasty like that. 

 

They are everywhere right now, blooming away. Some smaller abandoned plots of land out here are just nothing but Callery pears-they have crowded out everything else. 

Edited April 18, 20223 yr by Toddguy

Cleveland to resurrect tree commission

 

Quote

Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb and City Council are working to resurrect a long-dormant tree commission to help grow and protect the dwindling tree canopy in what was once known as the Forest City.

Legislation establishing a 15-member Urban Forestry Commission is making its way through City Council and could be approved as early as June 6, which would essentially bring back to life a similar commission that existed in the 1990s but stopped operating in the early 2000s for unknown reasons.

 

https://www.cleveland.com/news/2022/05/cleveland-to-resurrect-tree-commission.html

From LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6956495281177694210/

 

The same city on the same day - just two streets apart.

#urbanforests can offer a natural solution to the rising challenges we face in our #cities. “Green space is very much necessary,” argues Professor Cecil Konijnendijk, director at Nature Based Solutions Institute. 

“Given its positive contributions to public health and wellbeing, and ability to alleviate environmental catastrophes, it should be seen as critical infrastructure and put high on political agendas.” 

Having urban forests integrated into our cities supports the health and wellbeing of communities. Urban forests do more than simply increase a location’s aesthetic; they protect us from the impact of the climate crisis by preventing flooding and mitigating the ‘Urban Heat Island effect’, and must be understood as a powerful tool.

Post by SUGi

Image: Study by Kraków dla Mieszkańców

 

When we moved in our house had a row of four hemlocks no more than 30 ft behind it (to the south). These were tall enough to go above the roofline, despite being probably 10 ft lower than the walkout basement. Further down the hill were a couple of Norway Spruces (?) that were also quite large. These looked nice, made the yard feel like a park, kept maintenance down on the hillside, and provided great shade for the house.

 

Sadly, these trees were planted far too dense back in the 70's-80's, and both species were apparently not good choices for the growing conditions. After years of brown branches and increasing die off from the top down, an arborist confirmed they were pretty much all goners - so we sadly had to cut them all down. 

 

Not only was the loss of privacy and aesthetics annoying, but the south face of our house went from full shade to full sun. It's an old two story house with so-so insulation and ventilation, it's painted purple, and the south side has a walkout basement. The formerly adequate air conditioning was suddenly barely able to keep up on sunny days, making it very obvious just how much the trees were helping keep the house cool.

 

Holy *uck Ken. Those two streets are a perfect contrast. And they make the argument for trees. Which street do you want to walk on, live on? I don't know why the general public doesn't intuitively know this? People like trees. So plant them. Care for them. It's not rocket science for crying out loud.

On 8/1/2022 at 1:29 PM, mrCharlie said:

When we moved in our house had a row of four hemlocks no more than 30 ft behind it (to the south). These were tall enough to go above the roofline, despite being probably 10 ft lower than the walkout basement. Further down the hill were a couple of Norway Spruces (?) that were also quite large. These looked nice, made the yard feel like a park, kept maintenance down on the hillside, and provided great shade for the house.

 

Sadly, these trees were planted far too dense back in the 70's-80's, and both species were apparently not good choices for the growing conditions. After years of brown branches and increasing die off from the top down, an arborist confirmed they were pretty much all goners - so we sadly had to cut them all down. 

 

Not only was the loss of privacy and aesthetics annoying, but the south face of our house went from full shade to full sun. It's an old two story house with so-so insulation and ventilation, it's painted purple, and the south side has a walkout basement. The formerly adequate air conditioning was suddenly barely able to keep up on sunny days, making it very obvious just how much the trees were helping keep the house cool.

 

 

Replant them.  Hemlocks are fast growers.  Alternatively, plant locust, also fast growers with dappled shade.

In another thread I said freaking Davey Tree Expert Company is in freaking Kent OHIO! They know what to plant and where and how...including Urban areas. They are right nearby, its not a mystery. Why is this so hard. they are the #1 tree experts in North America...google it

Downtown Cleveland Alliance has started a volunteer "green team," focused on beautifying downtown. It looks like they have tree audits coming for Gateway and the warehouse district. I'll try to attend.

 

https://downtowncleveland.com/downtown-green-team

 

Edit: It goes without saying, that I encourage anyone who cares about having a beautiful downtown to consider volunteering. 

Edited September 30, 20222 yr by Ethan

Beautiful 

 

 

From the Cleveland Metroparks most recent board meeting agenda:

 

"Interstate 71 Beautification Project, Brookside Reservation (Originating Sources: Sean E. McDermott, P.E., Chief Planning and Design Officer/ Chris Cheraso, Landscape Architect)  

 

"Cleveland Metroparks has received grant funding from the Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council (NOPEC), Energized Community Grant for the purpose of planting and maintaining trees in the City of Cleveland for the benefit of NOPEC City of Cleveland customers. 

 

"Using this funding, Cleveland Metroparks and the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) have collaborated to enhance the freeway interchanges adjacent to Interstate 71 between West 25th Street and Fulton Road. ODOT will set the groundwork by first removing dead and dying trees along the interchanges. Cleveland Metroparks will follow, filling the voids with a tree palette focused on seasonal interest and viability."

 

It's a great start!

Well I have to pay $2,000.00 to have one of these dangerous trash trees removed and half of another one taken down. A limb as big as my thigh came down causing damage again and now I have had it with them.  I want to punch the person who planted these overgrown weed trees. 

 

Never plant them they are a crap tree that only grows fast, to quickly become a nuisance and a downright threat during windstorms. 

 

*and I still have to hope that my neighbors silver maple keeps losing limbs in their direction, as it is east of me.

Sounds like you might want to plant a Silver Maple over the Dispatch sign.

2 hours ago, ink said:

Sounds like you might want to plant a Silver Maple over the Dispatch sign.

B#^%h!  And I wish to God I had never mentioned that damn sign.  I am going to carve that sign out of a chunk of silver maple devil wood and then burn it in a ceremony to doom. that. sign. (plus bring about some disease that kills all silver maples everywhere forever.)

Cities need to plant more native species. When they do plant them, they need to also plant them correctly. There is an area in Loveland OH which is green space and not sure if it’s city owned ir not, but it runs next to a creek off I-275. They planted a bunch of River birch and this was new 3 years ago, I’m not s**tting you, the mulch is like halfway up the trees, they haven’t grown an inch and are actually declining. The trees shouldn’t have mulch on the base of the tree, the root flare needs to be exposed. So then you go through like in my area Loveland and the Loveland-Madeira Road Strio is covered in those Chinese crabapple type trees and other Chinese / Asian Cherry trees or callery pear. Then the city goes and buriea them in mulch, the winds come and since the mulch Rots them out they snap. It’s so *uc*** stupid! 
 

Then on Lebanon road the trees were doing poorly in the medium so they replaced them with like some type of weird Asian trees and then instead of mulch they covered them in large river rock. At the Great American Park all the trees are buried in mulch volcanos and have stunted growth and girlded roots. 
 

they need to plant dogwoods, red buds, wild plums, oak trees, get away from box woods and plant Oakleaf hydrangeas etc, and use up all that open space to drill in some Damn little bluestem and native flowers and soak up all that run off you create. It’s so frustrating! Sorry for rant, you all understand!! 😂

I don't understand why cities don't keep an arborist on staff....and then USE them. The position would pay for itself in cost savings by not having wasted money on planting the wrong trees in the wrong location the wrong way. 

I'm a little late to the conversation but Cincinnati has done great work with this. They have an Urban Forestry division that take responsibility for multiple sections of the city. Currently, they reasses every tree within the public RoW every 5 years. The city levies a special property assessment, which is allowed under state law, of 31 cents per linear front footage on every property owner, to pay for the division and its work.

 

It was previously 21 cents but city council approved the increase last year. This increase will allow them to hire more people to be more active in assessing the quality and conditions of the tree canopy within the public RoW.

1 hour ago, Dev said:

I'm a little late to the conversation but Cincinnati has done great work with this. They have an Urban Forestry division that take responsibility for multiple sections of the city. Currently, they reasses every tree within the public RoW every 5 years. The city levies a special property assessment, which is allowed under state law, of 31 cents per linear front footage on every property owner, to pay for the division and its work.

 

It was previously 21 cents but city council approved the increase last year. This increase will allow them to hire more people to be more active in assessing the quality and conditions of the tree canopy within the public RoW.

I really wish Columbus would learn from Cinci on this. We have terrible urban tree coverage, they are trying and they should be taking trips to Cinci to work with their department to learn what works. 

Like the Bexley to Columbus transition on Main Street going east. The trees just stop when you cross the line.

Columbus is awful with street trees. 

Columbus is scared of letting any sliver of land turn into woods.  Cincinnati has woods on every hillside.  

6 minutes ago, Lazarus said:

Columbus is scared of letting any sliver of land turn into woods.  Cincinnati has woods on every hillside.  

It probably helps a bit that Cinci has some actual hills ha. Easier to destroy everything when it’s flat and allows something to easily be built. The city says they are planning more urban tree canopy, but it probably won’t happen for years.

Open land in Columbus gets planted with crops. When Polaris Amphitheater closed crop prices were so high the grounds got planted with corn. No demo had taken place yet.

19 minutes ago, GCrites80s said:

Open land in Columbus gets planted with crops. When Polaris Amphitheater closed crop prices were so high the grounds got planted with corn. No demo had taken place yet.

 

I imagine part of that was to take advantage of CAUV/agricultural property tax rates.

The Christ Hospital in Liberty Township, OH did a good job of planting their parking lot area and surrounding the building with native plants.

 

Here in Cincinnati Sweetbay Magnolia grows well and they also planted lots of oakleaf hydrangea and eastern bluestars.

 

I love the look and feel of it and I feel that native plantings are starting to become more common. I understand some people wanting the more exotic type plants in some areas of your yard but I love the feel and look of our native species. They can get weedy etc. but if done right native plantings look really good.

 

In Columbus, I know they have done a lot of work on planting rain gardens in certain neighborhoods. The latest news I could read was from like 3-4 years ago though, how is that rollout doing for anyone in Columbus?

 

I've done a lot of work with our soggy yard creating a rain garden and native plant garden with perennials and grasses. I figured out edging it nicely against the existing turf is a good way to make it look better otherwise it gets real weedy. You also want to watch out and not plant certain species which take off like blunt tooth mountain mint. If anyone ever wants some advice I am happy to help out for your own yard. This one is in year 3 growing season and I had to move some plants around, etc. and put a hard edge on it. It grows in full sun and moist - average soil. I'll send an update in summer wehn it's really blooming. The eastern blustars just finished blooming and right now it's a little empty but going to start up soon with coneflowers coming in. Two separate beds here but adjacent to eachother. This area gets basically a creek running through when there is heavy rain so I bordered it with river rock after a couple years of chasing mulch and dirt which washes out. The water runs into from the back yard into the first garden you see into a rain garden then filters out to the second one. It reduced the mosquito population to basically zero and my son absolutely loves watering and looking at all the plants and butterflies it brings in.

 

I think our cities need to focus so much on reducing invasives like bush honeysuckle and replacing with native trees and shrubs and perennials where it is possible. We can all do this in our yards too to help with surface level water. I think these two gardens are basically cleaning this side of the neighborhoods surface level water, at least some of it! Plus the good thing about these is we also have so many song birds now in the yard and we have a blue jay nest and robin nest now. When the coneflowers go to seed we get tons and tons of goldfinches too.

 

 

37 minutes ago, ink said:

 

I imagine part of that was to take advantage of CAUV/agricultural property tax rates.

Yes. When property taxes are elevated such as they are in Franklin County (especially in the Polaris vicinity) CAUV rates become very attractive. And that Polaris tilling was under the pre-Kasich CAUV rates which were much lower. And high crop prices made it easier to reach minimum revenue per acred to qualify for CAUV rates.

1 hour ago, IAGuy39 said:

In Columbus, I know they have done a lot of work on planting rain gardens in certain neighborhoods. The latest news I could read was from like 3-4 years ago though, how is that rollout doing for anyone in Columbus?

I haven’t seen anymore on this. I think it was only implemented on a few small sections in one area. I mostly saw people complaining about how it would cause mosquitoes. I do remember seeing something about how it worked great and they looked great, so hopefully they start doing more. 

6 hours ago, VintageLife said:

It probably helps a bit that Cinci has some actual hills ha. 

 

Every hillside tree was cut down in the 1800s, mostly for firewood.  It's now the Ewok Village, by comparison.