As I approach my 40th year taking care of our wonderful clients’ trees I want to reflect on how fortunate we are as a company to be able to care for so many glorious trees and beautiful properties.
We are grateful to work in a geographic area that has abundant canopy trees and a long history of horticultural advocates dating back to Ben Franklin and John Bartram. Tree species ebb and flow. Some decline because of disease or destructive insects: the great American elm (Dutch Elm Disease), the ash (Emerald Ash Borer), and now the beech (Beech Leaf Disease). Others flourish and withstand the test of time. We care for many of them and continue to earn your confidence every day by trying our
best to preserve them into the future.
The following is an interesting note about a tree that was almost extinct from our forest but is now trying to make a comeback.
As always, thank you for allowing us to care for your trees.
A new year is upon us, and it is a big one for our region. Philadelphia is celebrating the semiquincentennial (I remember participating in the bicentennial celebrations from 1976 and seeing the Tall Ships).
One tree was particularly instrumental in the building of our young nation. In our region, the American chestnut tree was a valuable commodity. The tree itself grew
very tall with a straight trunk, making it highly prized at the sawmill, where it was processed into long, straight beams. The beams were used in large barns and other structures, some of which still stand today due to the wood’s superior rot resistance. The beams remain highly coveted and are always reclaimed when old buildings are demolished or rebuilt.
Many of our readers will be familiar with the blight that wiped out the American chestnut population in the 1920s to 1940s. The blight was caused by the fungal pathogen Cryphonectria parasitica, which remains a problem to this day. Chestnut saplings spring up in the wild and eventually succumb to the fungus. We have observed this in the American chestnuts that we care for on client properties, where saplings shoot
to 30 or 40 feet tall, then decline after
a few years.
Despite the persistence of the pathogen, there is hope for the chestnut tree. The American Chestnut Foundation (TCAF) is working to restore the population by way of a breeding program for genetic diversity and resilience. Locally, you can follow American Chestnut restoration efforts through the PA/NJ Chapter and in these projects: Wissahickon Valley Park, Pastorious Park, Morris Arboretum, and Tyler Arboretum. Perhaps the American Chestnut will make a comeback and thrive once more.
