Tree News • Fall 2020

Covid-19 Pandemic Impacts the Tree Advisory Board

The Tree Advisory Board (TAB) of the City is a board of citizens appointed by the Mayor who meet quarterly and work to support the tree operations of the City in myriad ways. Creating a list of goals each year, TAB forms collaborations with organizations and residents who want to grow and protect the green infrastructure of our community.

When the pandemic hit and the Governor’s executive orders suspended large group gatherings, multiple TAB projects were postponed: Arbor Day Children’s Poster & PoeTREE Contest with the Shaker Heights Public Library and tree planting with our Shaker Schools partner; a tree beautification project in Onaway; a collaborative project with the Hermes Foundation’s LGBTQ+ Fund; and the spring issue of the Tree News newsletter.

When TAB meetings went virtual in August, we resumed our full work plan. We vetted a new Master Street Tree Plan for the City of Shaker Heights, selected the 2020 Heritage Tree Awards, collaborated on a tree planting project with the Shaker Lakes Garden Club, donated three new trees from Gali’s Florist and Garden Center to Fernway Elementary School and published the fall issue of Tree News.

Charles Orlowski
Forester, City of Shaker Heights

Lower Lake Park (Photo credit: Jennifer Goodson)

Shaker Lakes Garden Club Will Plant Native Trees in Lower Lake Park

In the fall of 2019, a severe storm and microburst destroyed many mature trees in Lower Lake Park. Today after multiple efforts to reforest this parkland located west of Lover’s Lane along South Park Boulevard, the Shaker Lakes Garden Club is proposing a new collaborative project with the City, the Doan Brook Watershed Partnership and the Friends of Lower Lake in which six trees will be planted in a small grove of native trees. This project will accomplish two goals: to educate about the benefits of planting native trees in our area; and to increase our urban tree canopy much of which has reached full growth and is decreasing due to age and extreme weather events like the 2019 storm.

This tree project commemorates the centennial anniversary of the Shaker Lakes Garden Club’s membership in the Garden Club of America. The Club proposes to plant one tree each of Acer rubrum (Red Maple), Aesculus flava (Yellow Buckeye), Carpinus caroliniana (American Hornbeam), Gymnocladus dioicus (Kentucky Coffee Tree), Nyssa sylvatica (Tupelo), and Quercus muhlenbergii (Chinkapin Oak). All trees will be balled and burlapped specimens 2”-2.5” DBH. For questions, contact Committee Co-chair Robin Schachat at robinschachat@gmail.com.

Japanese Maple Tree

Fernway School Receives Three Trees for Its New Playground

In July 2018, Fernway School had a devastating fire that led to a just-completed extensive reconstruction and renovation of the building. Anticipating the day when Fernway students would be reunited, teacher Jean Reinhold and her then second graders entered a poster in the Children’s Arbor Day Poster & PoeTREE Contest that won three top prizes. This summer, Gali’s Florist & Garden Center donated the Japanese Maple, Lilac and Dogwood that were planted in the rear border of the new playground area. The TAB hopes that many generations of future students will enjoy this greening of their campus!

2019 Cuyahoga County Urban Tree Canopy Assessment Update

Shaker Heights has been awarded a “Tree City USA” designation for the past 35 years. As our City works with Cuyahoga County to help increase the tree canopy across the County, it becomes ever more important to educate our residents about the importance of residential trees to our canopy. In 2019, Cuyahoga County released the assessment update to its 2011 original Planning Commission Report and it found that

Between 2011 and 2019, the County’s tree canopy fell from 37% to 34.7% of total land area
The County lost 6,600 acres of tree canopy (a 6.1% decline) despite efforts by many communities like ours to increase the canopy by planting more trees

Tree canopy is important because it moderates climate, reduces energy use and carbon dioxide, improves air quality, mitigates stormwater runoff and flooding, enhances human health and well-being, lowers noise impacts, provides wildlife habitat and enhances property values.

One caveat of the survey is the fact that aerial surveys often fail to show new plantings with canopies less than six feet. A new tree may take 10 years to produce a canopy visible from the air. The updated report attributes much of the loss of tree canopy in the County to the loss of residential trees and development. You can make a difference by planting a tree or trees on your property!

Learn more:

Ivy and other vines are detrimental to trees

Caring for Your Tree Lawn Trees

By John Barber and Friends of Lower Lake

Residents are partners with the City of Shaker Heights in taking care of old and newly planted trees on tree lawns.

Do you have a question about your tree lawn tree? What kind of tree is it? How old is it? How should I help to care for it? Contact City Forester Chuck Orlowski by calling the Public Works Department at 216-491-1490. All tree lawn trees are being inventoried in order to map and identify every tree lawn tree in Shaker Heights.

Your tree lawn trees need to be sturdy to grow well in the small space between the sidewalk and the road. You can help your trees grow well by following some easy steps, including:

Mulch correctly: Do not pile mulch against the trunk of the tree. This is called volcano mulching and is harmful to trees. Keep the soil clear around the root flare (the base of the tree where the trunk meets the roots). Use a light touch to break through the soil at the base of the trunk to allow water to soak into the soil. Learn more about correct mulching techniques.
Water during summer dry periods: A good method of watering a tree is to fill a five-gallon bucket that has several small holes drilled through its base with water and let the water slowly drip around the base of the tree. If your new tree has a Gator Bag, please refill it. Learn more about watering guidelines.
No signs or other constrictions: Don't attach metal -- like address signs, screws or nails -- on or into tree lawn trees. Doing this may break the integrity of the bark, allowing insects or diseases to enter. Additionally, metal in the tree poses a significant hazard to forestry crews trimming or removing the trees. Also, never place anything constricting such as wire or cables around the trunk of a tree.
Remove vines: Never allow ivy or other vines to grow up your trees, as they can damage or kill your trees.

English Ivy (Hadera) can kill trees by its weight and is a host for Oak Wilt Fungus. Cut the Ivy at the base of the tree. Do not rip the Ivy down from the tree because that may damage the bark and branches. Leave it to die and rot in place. If you find Euonymous (Wintercreeper) or Celastrus (Oriental Bittersweet) climbing your trees, sever the vines at the base of the tree as soon as possible. Both these invasive plants will kill trees as they climb them and both will go to seed once climbing.

City Is Responsible for Pruning

Please, never prune or remove a tree lawn tree. This is the City's responsibility. Contact the City Forester at 216-491-1490 to discuss your concerns. If a limb or tree needs to be removed, our trained arborist will diagnose the problem and take appropriate steps.

Heritage Tree Awards

One of two Moses Cleaveland White Oaks selected for the 2020 Heritage Tree Awards.

2020 Awards Go To Two Moses Cleaveland White Oaks at Lower Lake Park

The Heritage Tree Awards were created as part of the City’s Arbor Day ceremony to honor trees:

Associated with a person, event or landmark in our history
Of unusual size, form, age or other quality
Associated with an interesting history connected to a facility, home or business

The 2020 Heritage Tree Awards recognize two White Oaks located on the southern shore of Lower Lake near the site of the former Canoe Club off South Park and Larchmere boulevards. The oldest on the west dates from ca. 1701 (318 years old) and measures 200 inches at a height of 4.5 feet. The second Oak located at the eastern end on the park close to the Canoe Club dates from ca. 1728 (290 years old) and measures 183 inches in diameter. There was a third majestic White Oak located between these trees that was unfortunately lost when it was felled in the severe storm in 2019.

Peggy Spaeth and John Barber of the Friends of Lower Lake identified both White Oaks and nominated them for the 2020 award. The Friends is an all-volunteer group that operates under the aegis of the Doan Brook Watershed Partnership. Working most Sundays at Lower Lake, they are gradually restoring habitat by removing invasive plants and trees while replanting native species that benefit birds, animals, pollinating insects. To volunteer or learn more, email the Friends of Lower Lake.

Research conducted on the historical epoch when these trees were planted reveals the strong possibility that all three White Oaks may have been identified by Moses Cleaveland, in whose honor the City of Cleveland was named. Moses Cleaveland of the Connecticut Land Company surveyed the land in our region in 1796, marking the location of many trees on various maps and noting that the land near the mouth of the Cuyahoga River at Lake Erie was the ideal location for “the capital city” of the Connecticut Western Reserve. The two 2020 Heritage Award White Oaks may well be part of the historic epitaph to Moses Cleaveland’s achievement.

Did You Know?

Turning Leaves into Compost is Easy

There is an alternative to raking all your fall leaves to the tree lawn. Build a compost bin or pile. Find a location in the yard where it is blocked from strong winds; there is no standing water; and there is sun. Gather your organic matter and make a pile about three feet cubed. Layer brown material, green material and good old garden soil or compost already brimming with compost creatures (micro and macro organisms). Every few weeks turn the contents of the pile to maintain oxygen levels and check for moisture. Add water if needed. The compost pile will work slowly until it freezes. Finished compost will work its way to the bottom of the pile. It will be dark brown or black and feel like loose soil. Most of the pile will be ready to spread on your garden by summer.

Leaf Season Reminders

Now through mid-December, if you have more leaves and organic matter than your compost bin can hold, rake your leaves to the tree lawn. Place brush (large branches) on the tree lawn, but keep brush separate from leaves. Please be careful to keep contaminants (plastic, pet waste, etc.) out of the organic piles! Do not rake the piles into the street, because the leaf waste can clog the catch basins and create hazardous driving conditions. Collections will occur approximately every two weeks.

Also of Note ...

Shaker Takes Top Recycling Spot

The Cuyahoga Soil Waste District reports that in 2019, Shaker’s residential waste diverted from landfills through curbside, drop-off and special recycling and organic waste composting was 59% of its total waste collection. Only two other communities in Cuyahoga County exceeded our totals. In addition, Shaker Heights increased its 2018 recycling rate by 4% in 2019!

Looking for Native Trees? We Can Help

If you are searching for native hardwood trees and shrubs in root pruning containers, Riverside Native Trees (740.815.3230) located at 2295 River Road in Delaware, Ohio is a reliable and reputable retailer. (www.riversidenativetrees.com)

Research Shows Gas Main Replacements Good For Trees

In Chelsea, Massachusetts, the repeated death of certain street trees planted in the same locations was attributed to concentrations of methane leaking from the natural gas distribution system in this 100+-year-old densely populated community. Based on this research, it is a good thing for tree lawn trees that Dominion Energy Ohio is replacing its pipeline distribution system in Shaker Hts. and neighboring suburbs.

Younger Trees Fare Better After Planting

Bigger is NOT ALWAYS better in tree planting? Many residents want to plant larger caliper trees in the belief that when it comes to shade trees, bigger trees will yield a more mature landscape faster. Surprisingly research has revealed that the reverse is true. Trees with trunks less than 2” in diameter that measure 8-12’ tall have fewer problems with transplant shock and grow more vigorously than trees measuring more than 2” in diameter that are between 12-20’ tall. This is because the bigger trees have their root systems severed when they are balled and burlapped. Research reveals that by five years of age, medium trees are difficult to distinguish from larger trees!

Recycle Yard Signs this Fall

Cast a vote for the environment with these easy ways to recycle campaign yard signs:

Bring them to the City's Service Center at 15600 Chagrin Blvd. on Saturday and Sunday, November 7-8 or 14-15 from 8:30 am t0 4 pm.
Or, bring them to the Cuyahoga Solid Waste District's Garfield Heights facility at 4750 E. 131 St. Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.