By Mallory Pratt | Concordia Tree Team
I’m sure you’ve noticed that it’s been a tough winter for our trees with heavy winds and an ice storm. Did you know that good structural pruning can help protect them from catastrophic damage from wind and ice and lengthen their healthy lifespan? Your Concordia Tree Team was on the job this past fall doing that very thing for 56 street trees. And we’ll be doing it again this spring, including a special Earth Day event along 42nd Avenue.
What does good pruning look like? The improvement in health can be significant even if the change in appearance is subtle. The photos accompanying this article show a “before” and “after” for a Zelkova where branches that were likely to break or were rubbing against each other were removed to open the canopy for movement and new growth.
To see more examples of what pruning can do, check out the What’s New page on the Ainsworth Linear Arboretum website at AinsworthLinearArboretum.org/new-roots.
Spring pruning
Our team is preparing for Spring Street Tree Pruning right now. We’ll be knocking on doors in late March and pruning during the month of April. If you live west of 33rd Avenue and north of Alberta Street, you are in our target area for this spring.
If you or your neighbors are interested in this free service and/or joining the team, go to the Ainsworth Linear Arboretum website and click the “Get Involved” button to contact us.
We are also looking for tree enthusiasts to help with our Earth Day 2023 pruning and community event on Saturday, April 22. We are pleased to announce a joint venture with the Cully Tree Team and 42nd Avenue businesses to prune the street trees along the length of 42nd Avenue, which is our border with the Cully neighborhood.
We’d love help with getting sponsors, contacting businesses and planning the community activities. Please contact the team through the Ainsworth Linear Arboretum website using the Get Involved button and let us know you’d like to help.
If pruning is not your passion, we also work to protect older trees, plant big trees for the future and create equity of access to trees throughout the neighborhood. Come join us at our monthly meeting, the first Tuesday of the month from 6:30 to 7:30. Check the ALA website for location since it changes each month.
Mallory Pratt is the convener/facilitator for the Concordia Tree Team.