May 2012
JUNE 6, 2012 -- Clean-up Day at Marquand Park, 9-12 noon. For info, contact Pam MacHold, machold@aol.com or 609-921-2627
JUNE 9, 2012 -- Healthy Children, Healthy Planet Fair at Riverside Elementary School, 58 Riverside Drive, 10 a.m.-2 pm, contact http://www.facebook.com/riversideschoolgarden
JUNE 17, 2012 -- Princeton's Fathers Day Shade Tree Walk with Steve Hiltner highlighting invasive species, Mountain Lakes Preserve, 10 a.m.-noon. Park cars at Pettoranello Gardens, Mountain Avenue and Rt. 206.
Mystery Tree Contest Award, May 2012, Goes To:
Jaden Chen with Tree Detective T-shirt
JADEN CHEN, FIRST GRADER AT PRINCETON FRIENDS SCHOOL.
Instead of guessing only one of the ten Mystery Trees, Jaden visited all ten sites in the Borough during the leafless weeks before Arbor Day. Judging by bark textures. buds and branch shapes alone, he entered very good guesses before mature leaves had appeared to provide him with better clues.
Here Are Those Mystery Tree Identifications You’ve Been Waiting For
Two street trees at 22 Hamilton Ave: Both mystery trees are sugar maples. Jaden’s guesses were Quaking Aspen and Box Maple, which, like the sugar maple, is a member of the same (Acer) genus. So… Jaden gets detective credit for the maple.
At 1 Evelyn Place, a Willow Oak (Quercus phellos) , which Jaden guessed as a willow (Salix), because it has very narrow emerging leaves. An understandable and good guess, even without the missing second word, “Oak.” Half right!
Jaden’s two guesses on Chestnut Street were bold but incorrect. The street tree at #23 is actually a red horse chestnut (Aesculus x carnea). The tree at # 19 is a crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia).
The tree at 246 Hawthorne is a black gum, or Nyssa sylvatica, not a black Locust (Robinia pseudoacadia). The gum tree will turn a beautiful red in autumn. Locusts go yellow.
The tree at 202 Prospect is indeed a maple, but a Norway maple (Acer platanoides). Jaden’s guess was in the same family, a sycamore maple (Acer pseudoplatanus). Credit given.
The tree at 11 Jefferson is an American Elm (Ulmus Americana), not an American Beech (Fagus grandifolia), as Jaden guessed. Both trees have oval or egg-shaped leaves, and light grey bark. But elms have small teeth between the edges of large teeth, and the leaf bases are not symmetrical, that is, balanced on the leaf stem. Beech leaves have the same parallel veins from center stem to edges, but the teeth (which Jaden couldn’t see yet) are incurved around the margins. Good try!
The PBShade Tree Commission salutes Jaden Chen for his detective work, and his parents for transportation and their encouragement. --PRH
April 2012
Arbor Day: April 27
In double-decker ceremonies at two locations on Friday, April 27, the Princeton Borough Shade Tree Commission and the Princeton Township Shade Tree Commission celebrated Arbor Day with shovels, free tree seedlings, chipper demonstrations at Princeton Charter School by Township arborist Greg O’Neil, and a towering 60 foot bucket truck show with Scott Parson from Township public works riding up top.
During the week before Arbor Day, sixteen new street trees were planted to fill curbside gaps on Princeton Borough’s Nassau Street from Bayard Lane to Harrison: three Silver Lindens, two “Ivory Silk” Tree Lilacs, two Amur maackias, three Tulip trees, three Princeton Elms, and one each of Zelkova, Hackberry, and Golden Raintree. Each tree was selected for its mature height and shape, its compatibility with neighboring trees, its color range, and its likely survival near street traffic. Borough Shade Tree Commissioners met and delivered care and watering instructions to home and business owners at each planting site.
Then, early Friday morning at Borough Hall, Mayor Yina Moore, Township Committee Member Bernie Miller, and Township Shade Tree Commissioners joined the Borough Shade Tree Commission to dedicate a new Yoshino Cherry tree (Prunus x yedoensis) in the existing 26-tree allee leading to the monument at Borough Hall.
Both commissions and the civic officials then traveled to Princeton Charter School on Bunn Drive in the Township to celebrate the planting of a Black Gum tree (Nyssa sylvatica), distribute tree seedlings, and watch Greg O’Neil, arborist, demonstrate chain saws, a chipper, and the bucket truck cherry picker used for trimming trees. In addition, he showed the 98 third and fourth graders protective gear used for tree work, like gloves, hard hats, ear and eye guards, as well as ropes heavy enough to lift a school bus. Norway Spruce seedlings were given to students.
On hand at the Borough cherry tree planting ceremony on Arbor Day 2012: from left, Pat Hyatt of the Borough Shade Tree Commission; Pam MacHold, Township Commission, behind Borough Mayor Yina Moore ( with shovel); Welmoet van Kammen, Borough Commission; Greg O'Neil, Township arborist; Greenie Neuberg, (almost hidden, in white cap) Township Commission; Lily Kraus, Chair of the Township Tree Commission, Claudia Ceballos, secretary for the Township Commission, Sharon Ainsworth, Borough Commission; Marie Rickman, Borough Commission, Alexandra Radbil, Chair of the Borough Commission, and Bernie Miller, Township Committee member.
Borough Mayor Yina Moore, right, and her daughter Gisela in front of the Norway Spruce tree given to her as an Arbor Day seedling 15 years ago when Gisela was a first grader at Community Park Elementary. Gisela, 22, is now a senior at Rutgers, majoring in psychology, with a biology minor.
Tree commissioners (from left) Pat Hyatt, Alexandra Radbil (chair of PBSTC), and Marie Rickman passed out 400 Norway Spruce seedlings from the Shade Tree booth at Communiversity on April 28. Planting instructions can be found at this website.
PRINCETON BOROUGH AND TOWNSHIP SHADE TREE COMMISSIONS CELEBRATE ARBOR DAY TOGETHER
In advance of consolidation next January, the Princeton Borough Shade Tree Commission and the Princeton Township Shade Tree Commission will celebrate Arbor Day together on Friday, April 27.
At 9:15, the Borough ceremony begins at Borough Hall where the five Borough commissioners and Mayor Yina Moore will plant a new Yoshino cherry tree (Prunus x yedoensis) in the existing 26-tree allee leading to the monument where Nassau Street begins off Bayard Lane (Route 206). Members of both Shade Tree Commissions will be present at this event.
Then at 10:30, the ceremony will shift to the Princeton Charter School on Bunn Drive. There, members of the Township Shade Tree Commission will distribute tree seedlings to children in the third grade and plant a Bur Oak (Quercus macrocarpa). This will follow a demonstration by Township Arborist Greg O’Neil of some of the equipment and tools that he and his colleagues use to care for Princeton street trees. Included will be chain saws, a chipper and a bucket truck. He will also show personal protective gear such as gloves, hard hats, ear and eye protections, and special ropes.
The public is invited to attend these joint celebrations. For further information, contact Township Arborist Greg O’Neil at 921-7077.
Local tree care and identification tips can be found at www.pbshadetree.org.
The Borough Shade Tree Commission will distribute free tree seedlings the following afternoon, Saturday, April 28, from their booth at Communiversity on Nassau Street in Princeton. (contact: Pat Hyatt, Princeton Borough Shade Tree Commission, prhyatt@gmail.com)
The Township plans to add 53 trees to local roadways this year!
Yoshino cherry trees in bloom
March 2012 at Princeton Borough Hall:
March 2012
TEN MYSTERY TREES
April Update! To date, six Princeton Borough trees remain on the unidentified list.
Their locations are, between sidewalk and street:
11 Jeffferson, the smaller of two trees at this address
202 Prospect
1 Evelyn Place
246 Hawthorne
22 Hamilton, two small identical trees
Senior and Junior citizens, please help the Shade Tree Commission identify mystery trees our survey team somehow skipped while compiling the Borough's database of 2383 public trees back in 2011. If you live near any of the following tree addresses, please forward your certain or your best ID guesses to the commission at www.pbshadetree.org
Please include your email address with your guesses.
November 2011
PREVENTING WINTER DAMAGE TO TREES
Autumn is a good time to take steps to prevent winter damage to your trees. Young trees that have been in the ground less than 3 years need to go into the winter with their roots well watered. Give them a good soaking and, if there has been no rain, continue to water them before the ground freezes solid. To keep the soil moist, apply no more than a three-inch layer of mulch. Keep the mulch 4 inches away from the bark; small rodents like to live in the cozy heat of the mulch, and often munch on the bark of young trees.
Protecting trees from deer is also important. This is the season when bucks start rubbing trees with their antlers to demarcate their territory and to attract receptive does. Rubbing also removes velvet from their antlers. Damage to the tree can be prevented by surrounding it with 6-foot-high wire mesh, supported by metal stakes in the ground. Or try corrugated plastic drainpipe that is slit lengthwise and then wrapped around the trunk. Garden supply stores often carry special deer guards.
Some kinds of trees are more prone to bend or break in winter storms and snow than others. Multi-stemmed deciduous trees such as birch and serviceberry (amelanchier) are examples of such trees. Tying a strong cloth strip two-thirds of the way up will hold the trunks from breaking under the weight of snow and ice.
Multi-stemmed upright evergreens such as arborvitae are frequently split in bad winter conditions such as those of last year. Tie heavy soft twine at the base of the trunk and then spiral it up loosely around the tree, reversing the spiral on the way down. This is especially helpful in dealing with larger trees that begin to open at the top.
Burlap can also be used to protect trees from drying out from winter winds and sun. Now, while the ground is still soft, hammer stakes in; the burlap can be wrapped around the stakes toward the end of December, leaving the top uncovered to admit necessary light. And talking about December, some people like to plant their balled and burlapped Christmas trees outside after the holidays. It’s a good idea to dig the hole for the tree now while you can, storing the soil that is removed in a place that won’t freeze and dumping leaves or mulch into the hole or covering it with plywood until you are ready to plant the tree.
Anti-desiccant sprays that reduce damage from drying winds, hot winter sun, and water loss are another option, especially for recently-planted evergreen trees (and shrubs). But first read the label on the bottle to make sure that the spray is appropriate for your plants. Also, pay attention to the directions for temperature and moisture.
If you haven’t done so in the past few years, contact a professional arborist to check your trees and make sure that branches overhanging your house or your neighbor’s are safe and secure.
For further information, go to http://www.mgofmc.org/bbfactsheets.html where, under Miscellaneous, there are two helpful fact sheets about winter problems written by Mercer County Horticulturist, Barbara J. Bromley.
September 2011
One of the Shade Tree Commission members has put together a list of books about trees for children, inspired by one area school that has chosen trees as their learning theme for this coming year. The hope is to assist teachers, students, and parents looking for good primary grade readings in nature studies, autumn/seasonal holidays, Arbor Day events, etc. All eleven books on the list are available in the Princeton Public Library.
June 2011
More than 40 visitors turned out for the Marquand Park Tree Tour June 11, led by Roland and Pamela Machold. An account of the walk appears here.
May 2011
Marquand Park Tree Tour - June 11. Experienced guides Roland and Pamela Machold will lead walkers through the 17-acre park.
How to Plant Your Oak Seedling
UNDER THE SILK TREE - The Mayor and Commission celebrate Arbor Day
