Developed by The UMaine Campus Arboretum &
Beautification Committee
February 2006
The mall between Folger Library and Memorial Gym is the
central green space on campus and a setting that is part of the memory
of students, staff, alumni, and campus visitors. The trees on the Mall
are at least as important as the buildings in defining the mall space.
Unfortunately, the current ash trees on the Mall will never be the
stately, shade-producing trees we want in this emblematic space. The
Campus Arboretum and Beautification Committee (CABC) and horticultural
experts from off campus therefore think the trees on the Mall should be
replaced.
What’s wrong with the trees on the mall?
The 39
green ashes on the Mall were planted in the 1970’s to replace the
American elms that were dying of Dutch elm disease. Shaded by the elms
for several years, the trunks of the ashes tended to branch at a low
point and not to be straight (see photos). Compromised structurally, the
ashes have limited potential for height and an appealing form. Efforts
to correct the poor growth form have not been successful. Also, green
ashes are quite susceptible to ice damage. The ice storm of 1998 was
hard on these trees, which are highly vulnerable to future ice storms.
Click the images below to enlarge
A proposal to replace the trees
The CABC is working on a plan for replacing the trees on
the Mall. The committee has selected a replacement tree, Quercus
bicolor, one of the white oaks (see photo). The primary criteria for
selection were aesthetics, growth characteristics, and sustainability.
Aesthetic qualities include canopy size and shape, fall coloration, and
attractiveness due to special features of the bark or foliage. We want a
cultivar that would grow relatively quickly and fill the space on the
Mall and yet be long-lived. By sustainability we mean tolerance of salt,
tolerance of soil compaction, resistance to diseases that are currently
a problem and that might become a problem, requiring minimal
maintenance, and having branches mostly out of reach of people. The
committee worked with five Maine nurserymen with many decades of
experience in planting and maintaining trees on the selection of a
replacement. Quercus bicolor is the top choice of the nurserymen
and the committee.
A white oak, Quercus bicolor,
on the northwest corner of Nutting Hall.
Quercus bicolor
is well suited to the
Mall, it develops a stately canopy, and it lives for 300-350 years.
Several individuals of Maine native are already planted on
campus. In addition to the tree shown in the photo, which has a label on
its trunk, there are other individuals of this species near Nutting Hall
and in the Fay Hyland Botanical Garden. For more information about
Quercus bicolor, see
www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/treeselector;
http://www.dnr.ohio.gov/forestry/trees/oak_wh_swamp.htm.
The CABC has
considered the merits of replanting with more than one species to reduce
susceptibility to disease. However, we cannot identify
two tree species or cultivars that would not suffer from the same
diseases and that are compatible in their form and thus appropriate for
the formal space of the Mall.
The current plan calls
for purchasing trees in 2006, holding them in
the
in the
Littlefield Garden Small Tree Trials area for two years to acclimate
them to Maine, develop their root system, and increase their size. The
trees would be planted in 2008.
How will we pay for replacement trees?
Costs for tree
replacement would be covered by private donations from individuals,
groups, and organizations would include a long-term maintenance fund.
This
is an exciting opportunity to invest in the most important green space
on the UMaine campus and to leave a legacy for future generations of
UMaine students, staff, and faculty.
In addition to replacing the trees, the CABC proposes an
attractive sign near the Mall that would list supporters, provide
information about the history of the Mall and the new species, and
discourage walking on the turf of the Mall.
If you are
interested in this proposal,
please attend one of the public forums on 24 February and
23 March.
An essential step in
this proposal is open discussion on campus. If you are interested in
this proposal, pro or con, please
attend a
public forum 10-12 AM, Friday, 24 Feb., in the Bangor Room, Memorial
Union and 2-4 PM, Thursday, 23 March, in the Bangor Room, Memorial
Union.
If you have questions about the proposal to replace the
trees on the Mall, please contact Christopher Campbell (581-2982; email:
FirstClass)
