Back in 1993, a pair of Master Gardeners started a tree survey on one of Fredericksburg's most historic streets.  This portion of Washington Avenue fronts Kenmore Plantation, built by Colonel Fielding Lewis and Betty Washington Lewis, sister of George Washington.  The street is divided by wide grassy islands in the median which and is the oldest "Mall" in the United States.  This Mall provided an area for meetings and interactions of the residents of the area.

    Two of our finest Master Gardeners, Debbie Sauls and Rebecca Savage, combined their efforts with Fredericksburg Parks & Recreation and the Kenmore Association to access the condition of the street trees through a detailed inventory.  Another goal was to develop a long range plan to restore the planted areas to a configuration in line with the 18th Century plan for the Mall.  Eventually many Master Gardeners were involved in the project, myself included.  The final results were presented in March of 1995, with a detailed inventory being preserved on a 3-1/2" floppy disk.

    We numbered the trees and identified them by Scientific and Common name.  We also identified their location by street number and recorded the distance of the trunk from the curb.  We also recorded the diameter of the tree trunks, the width of the crown, and the height of the tree.  We then divided them into 5 classifications as follows: 1 = New Planting or No Problems; 2 = Good condition, minor problems; 3 = Fair condition, significant problems; 4 = Poor condition, major problems; and 5 = Tree should be removed, lack of structural strength makes the tree a hazard.  We also noted trunk condition, remarks regarding the canopy, and general remarks regarding disease, damage, etc.

    Here is an example of our data which is all recorded on a spreadsheet.  "1403 Washington Ave.; Tree #16W; trunk is 22" from curb; Quercus phellos or "Willow Oak"; trunk is 4" in diameter; crown is 12 feet in diameter; tree height is 20 feet; Classification is "2"; trunk is in good shape; canopy is growing into overhead power lines; and the tree is fairly young.  Data was reported on March 13, 1995.

    Occasionally we could identify the date of planting through interviews with the residents.  The street curbs contained 54 trees and the open mall space held 53 trees.  In the Mall area most of the trees are Cornus florida or "White Dogwood".  The dogwoods are planted in a fully open area, contrary to their need for partial shade as a natural understory tree.  The dogwoods were quite old and, while they have survived, their condition reminds me of the biblical Book of Job.  A drive to live under the worst of conditions.  The street side Norway Maples have root disease because the Norway's root system tends to circle or "girdle" its own trunk.

    On the up side, we documented many fine trees.  A major accomplishment was to have a record which detailed need for preventative maintenance.  I believe three trees were correctly removed because they were identified as structurally hazardous though scientific testing by a Certified Arborist.  The project was quite fulfilling.

    At some point, we would like to resurrect this process and carry it on.  Our local newspaper,  The Free Lance Star has a Saturday columnist, Mr. Tony Wrenn (In A Virginia Garden) who is very interested in developing a tree inventory system for our city.  He can be contacted at gwoolf@freelancestar.com, attention Tony Wrenn, for those who might be interested in helping with such projects.   Tony also offers up mighty fine reading and is worth a read.

    Locally we have tried to get the survey going again.  I have attended an organizational meeting at one point.  All we really need to do is get 3 or 4 people together on a selected street corner with measuring tapes and a legal pad.  Personally, I would be available for that after mid June because spring is busy for me.  While this column has a very local flavor, you can inventory trees wherever you might live. Until next week.
 

                                                                                        Andy Lynn