Why doesn’t the city take care of things? I often think “Durango” is a Spanish word meaning “deferred maintenance.” It’s why we’re going to have to cough up $50 million for a new sewer plant. So now, in the relatively new Florida Road median islands, there are stands of dead trees. Did they not install irrigation? Was it not turned on? Why plant trees only to kill them? – Tree Hugger
Being an obsessive gardener, Action Line abhors horrid horticulture. But the city is innocent of arboreal abuse in the first degree.
It was more like assault in the 32nd degree, and the perp was Mother Nature.
As you know, springtime in Durango is like many ex-spouses: unpredictable and cold.
This spring was no exception. Days were downright chilly with some warm periods punctuated by unexpected hard frosts.
Just nine days ago, the morning low was 44 degrees in town. We’re talking the middle of June! Mrs. Action Line is really tired of having to wear sweaters.
Anyway, the median trees are not a copse of corpses. The trees are alive but suffering from a bad case of frost nip, according to city staffers.
Here is the truncated version of the tree story.
The “dead” trees in the Florida Road medians are Japanese tree lilacs (Syringa reticulata), a normally tough-as-nails specimen.
This year, the tree lilacs broke dormancy only to be exposed to freezing temperatures. In other words, the trees were freezing their buds off.
City crews checked the irrigation system, and it’s working. They also examined the trees, and “we’re hoping for the best,” said City Arborist Greg Sykes. “We just have to wait for the trees to grow new buds.”
We all know Durango is the place where people reinvent themselves.
Fittingly, it’s also where even the trees can turn over a new leaf.
Is there a reason that Durango city facilities and parks (for example, at the Durango Community Recreation Center) have commercially dyed wood chips instead of the mulch the city grinds and offers to local residents? Sincerely, P.F.
We called up our friends in the Parks & Recreation Department and reached the always chipper Mark Bauer, a crew leader for the Parks Division.
Bauer let the chips fall where they may.
First off, the mulch isn’t dyed.
“It’s natural red cedar bark,” he said.
Cedar bark not only looks good, “but cedar doesn’t break down as fast as the city’s ground-up mulch,” Bauer said. “So we save crew time and tax money by not having to come back and reapply.”
Cedar mulch also is cleaner.
“The city-ground mulch comes from spring and fall cleanup and Christmas trees,” Bauer said. “So it can have seeds in it along with chopped-up branches.”
For homeowners, a couple of hitchhiking weeds is no big deal. But with acres and acres of city parks, it would create problems.
But not all rogue plants are weeds.
“I saw some tomatoes growing in the mulch,” Bauer said with a laugh.
If you want “cleaner” municipal mulch, there’s a special stash ground exclusively from material pruned by the city’s forestry folks. It’s at Greenmount Cemetery, past the veterans’ memorial.
“Just keep to the left after you enter the cemetery,” Bauer said.
But don’t be disappointed if there is zilch mulch.
“The pile is low this time of year. As we get into summer, there will be more material to chip,” he said.
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 ever found a stray Christmas ornament or tinsel in your city mulch.
