Lot Lines – the Official Blog of Outdoor Design Group, Colorado Landscape Architects
Colorado Tree View
From time to time, we here at Outdoor Design Group like to hand over the reins of this blog to a guest writer. This allows us to peer over the fence into the realm of another business, and bring our readers new views on topics related to our field of work.
This week, T.J. Wood from Plan-It Geo (a company that Outdoor Design Group has collaborated with in the past on various projects) gives us a description of an application they developed for the Colorado State Forest Service. This online tool helps Colorado communities assess their public street and park trees locally to provide a statewide picture of tree diversity and health.
Introduction:
At Plan-It Geo, we specialize in “Trees and Technology.” A tree inventory combines both of these elements seamlessly by management of this important natural resource with use of mobile devices and technology in the field. The Colorado State Forest Service contracted Plan-It Geo to develop a web-based application that communities, campuses, and HOA’s can upload their tree inventories and view important state-wide tree data summaries. To access all of our web and mobile GIS software applications, click here.
A screen shot from CO-Tree View
Colorado Tree View:
Project Profile: Colorado Tree View
Project Title: Colorado Tree View – Statewide Inventory and Ash management Application
Client: Colorado State Forest Service
Timeframe: February 2015 – Present
Description: Tree inventories provide critical information for cities, neighborhood associations, and other entities to proactively manage their urban and community forestry resource. This project provided a tool to help diversify the planning and planting of tree species. It also provided a first-time statewide view of the structure of Colorado’s urban forests. The tool is a starting point for a long-term strategy and provides substantial new technical support to communities.
Outcomes: A statewide web-based application was created for Colorado. This application has the built-in ability to “crosswalk” a wide variety of inventory data into the application. The main fields collected are species, dbh (diameter breast height), condition, and location of each tree. The application has a hierarchy of log ins based on city and user approvals with different functionality at each level. A customized dashboard was created for the state to view important number and population statistics on each community or organizational inventory.
A screen shot from CO-Tree View
This is the official blog of Outdoor Design Group, Colorado Landscape Architects. For more information about our business and our services, click here.
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What Not to Do – Placing Fence Posts Within a Lawn Area
While visiting a project site last week I noticed a mistake in landscape design that I had to share:
In our landscape plans we always prefer to place fencing out of lawn areas and within landscape beds, or at least in a strip of rock. In the photos above, these nice 6″x6″ posts are being slowly whittled away by trimmers, commonly known as “weed wackers”.
This is a condo project that was only built about 10 years ago. I don’t blame the maintenance crews, I blame a poor landscape design.
If anything, the maintenance crews are probably cursing the landscape architect- because they have to trim around about 80 of these posts every week.
Since lawn was designed around the fence (rather than placing the fence in a strip of rock), it also gets over-sprayed by the lawn irrigation, which not only wastes water, but will quickly deteriorate a wood fence. That’s probably why it looks like it recently had to be re-stained.
This is the official blog of Outdoor Design Group, Colorado Landscape Architects. For more information about our business and our services, click here.
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Should Aspen Trees be Planted in Denver?
Who doesn’t love seeing the golden glow of aspen leaves (Populus tremuloides) dancing in the breeze on a mountain hillside? Many gardeners living at Colorado’s lower elevations have been smitten by the quaking leaves of aspen trees and tried to bring some of that mountain magic into their own yard. But doing so reveals lessons in plant ecology, and reminds us that not every plant we want to have in our home landscapes can easily grow there.
Aspens are a “succession” tree, moving into areas where other trees and shrubs were removed by logging, fire, erosion, insects or disease. As a succession species, they are not long lived. Their presence helps lead the way to other longer living trees.
In addition, aspens are highly susceptible to insect damages and diseases. Aspens that were collected in the wild are even more prone to damage and disease, as their root system is either injured or is incomplete during collection. Nursery grown aspens are generally healthier than collected ones, but still will likely succumb to problems and a shortened life.
A diseased aspen tree.
Most arborists and horticulturists advise against planting Aspens along the Colorado’s Front Range. The growing conditions of the Front Range are different than those areas where Aspen thrive naturally. Aspens like to grow in gravelly, moist but well-drained soil with a lower pH (more acidic) that can typically be found at higher elevations. Along Colorado’s Front Range, our soils are typically heavy clay soils that don’t drain well and have a higher pH (more alkaline). Summer weather along the Front Range is hotter and drier than in the mountains, another factor going against the health of Aspens planted east of the high country.
If you really must have the quaking leaves of aspen in your yard, only plant them if you can place them in the north or east sides of your home (due to the afternoon heat of south and west exposures) and only if it is a nursery grown tree. Keep them away from objects that might radiate too much heat to the trees such as paving. Amend the soil with organic matter in an attempt to increase the acidity of the soil, and then mulch the newly planted tree well. You might also consider adding gravel or perlite to the soil before you plant to improve drainage, and reduce the problem of heavy clay soil.
Even if you can adhere to the aforementioned criteria while planting your aspen, it’s not likely your tree will achieve the brilliant gold of the aspens at higher elevations due to differences in soil chemistry, soil texture, soil moisture, day and night temperatures, and sunlight discrepancies at the different elevations. In addition you should be on the lookout for several different diseases and insects that more readily afflict aspens planted out of their native range.
Furthermore, if you want to remove aspen trees that are established in your yard, you may get many suckers (the stems that sprout up from aspen roots) coming up in your yard for many months after you removed the main trunk.
So in my opinion, no, aspen trees should not be planted in the Denver area, because it is not likely they will do well. But if you are aware of the many shortcomings of aspens planted outside of their native range, feel free to give them a try.
This is the official blog of Outdoor Design Group, Colorado Landscape Architects. For more information about our business and our services, click here.