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City arborist gets a plum assignment on Florida Road

Why did the city cut down the rows of trees in the Florida Road median? They left these rows of ugly 3-foot-tall stumps. Is the city taking landscaping lessons from the Colorado Department of Transportation and removing all forms of life? I wish I got a photo. It’s really awful. Sign me, Tree Hugger

Your query brings up an additional intriguing question.

If a tree falls along Florida Road and there’s no one taking a picture with their iPhone while they’re driving their Subaru, will anyone even notice because it’s not posted on Facebook?

Allow Action Line to update your status.

What you saw last week was tree triage during a median makeover.

A couple of years ago, the city planted some Japanese tree lilacs in the Florida Road median east of Chapman Hill.

Tree lilacs are supposed to be hardy. But the particularly spastic spring of 2015 did them in.

An early warm spell prompted the trees to bud early. Then came savage cold snap that froze all the emerging growth.

City Arborist Greg Sykes was hoping the trees would bounce back. One did. The rest went to the Great Mulch Pile in the Sky.

So last week, Greg’s crews sawed the trees in half and hauled away the upper parts.

They left trunks because it’s easier to remove heavy root balls if you have something to hold on to.

The work-in-progress was visible the first part of last week, and naturally some people were, ahem, stumped.

By midweek, Greg’s crews removed the root balls and planted replacement trees. They were even able to get all the trees in the ground a day ahead of schedule.

You might go out on a limb and say the tree project was “truncated.”

But those would be vile puns, so Action Line will turn over a new leaf.

The new Florida Road trees are two proven winners: Chanticleer pears and purple-leaf plums.

Yes, both are technically fruit trees, but neither bears significant fruit. That’s good news for motorists worried about potential “pear slicks” or hydroplaning on fallen plums.

The plantings are a great addition to the urban forest. “It’s really going to look especially nice in spring,” the city arborist assured.

Greg made sure the watering system was working properly. He added, “We gave each new tree a really good drink right after planting, and we doubled checked to make sure the watering system timers are working correctly.”

The trees with green leaves are the Chanticleers. The trees bloom profusely with white flowers in springtime, and the leaves turn a nice fall color.

If you want to see what mature ones look like, check out the deciduous trees flanking the Durango Community Recreation Center entrance.

The purple-leaf plums also bloom in spring, but their flowers are pink. Obviously, the big attraction is the trees’ dusky summertime foliage.

Just in case you are green with envy for this purple-leaf tree, the nerdy Latin name is Prunus cerasifera ‘Krauter Vesuvius.’

Try saying that three times with a mouth full of plums.

Maybe we should just settle on pronouncing Florida Road correctly.

This seems to be difficult enough for people just putting down roots in our community.

Email questions to actionline@durangoherald.com or mail them to Action Line, The Durango Herald, 1275 Main Ave., Durango, CO 81301. You can request anonymity if you know acorn-y pun about oaks.



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