The emerald ash borer may be responsible for the death of some trees in an Orillia park, but the way they were planted a few decades ago didn’t help.
Bob Bowles, a local naturalist, heard of the city’s plan to remove about 40 white ash trees next week near the Centennial Park boat launch. In a news release, the city stated the move was “a result of the emerald ash borer” wreaking havoc on the trees.
However, Bowles noted, “the trees were not properly planted in the first place and their chance of survival was low to nil since they didn't have the room for root expansion.”
“The white ash trees that have been planted on islands in the parking lot at Centennial Park near the boat ramp are dead and have been stressed and almost dead for years,” he said.
Planting up to six trees in one small island restricted root growth and contributed to their demise, Bowles said, adding he wants to see the city plant new trees there and “do it differently.”
“Give them lots of room for root expansion and crown expansion,” he said.
John McMullen, the city’s manager of park planning and development, said practices have changed since the trees in question were planted in the 1980s and ’90s.
“As far as the planting techniques that were used then versus now, it relates to the amount of topsoil allowed for the roots. Best practices over the years have evolved,” he said, adding that includes taking steps to ensure room for root expansion. “It’s much larger than what would have been done back in the ’80s and ’90s.”
The city will be planting “the same or a similar number” of trees in the area, McMullen said, but that won’t happen until details of the parking area configuration and realignment of Centennial Drive have been finalized as part of the waterfront redevelopment.
The trees that will be planted will not be ash species, he noted. The city will be looking at “pollution-tolerant, urban-tolerant” trees such as shademaster locust and autumn blaze maple.
McMullen acknowledged the issues with the way the existing trees were planted, but he said the emerald ash borer still bears some responsibility as the trees were in poor health, making them more susceptible to the destructive beetle.
