Palisades Beautiful is launching its annual drive to sign up residents who would like to have a street tree planted in front of their house – in the parkway area between curb and sidewalk. This past spring, working with Los Angeles City Environmental Services and the L.A. Conservation Corps, the local nonprofit organization arranged to have two dozen trees planted at no cost to homeowners. Trees planted are of species “designated” for different neighborhood streets, to give them a desirable uniform appearance.
Download a sign-up form for the upcoming Spring 2015 planting at www.palisadedsbeautiful.org or pick one up at the Palisades Branch Library, Chamber of Commerce, BOCA Man clothing store on Swarthmore and some local real estate offices.
If you already have a parkway tree but would like to enhance your own street or neighborhood further, you—and maybe your neighbors too—could look for additional spaces on your block and in nearby streets to identify spaces where more street trees could be accommodated. (Not long ago, residents on Miami Way did this.) If this kind of effort appeals to you, contact Palisades Beautiful, and you’ll be encouraged to proceed in soliciting tree requests. The organization will start processing them after they’re turned in.
Residents who participate in this cost-free planting program promise to take special care of their new trees for five years; after that, they should be well established. The most important responsibility is to water the trees consistently, following written instructions handed out at planting time. The tree planters create a basin free of turf and weeds, which enables irrigation water to sink downward to the new trees’ roots. This basin should be expanded as the tree grows and then maintained throughout its life. Also, when new trees are planted, two stakes and ties surround the trunk to help keep them erect as they grow and to hinder their falling over in strong winds. Usually when a tree has been in the ground for two years, or its trunk has reached a diameter of two to three inches, it no longer needs this staking. Releasing the ties and removing the stakes prevents trunk constriction, which interferes with a tree’s growth and detracts from its appearance.
After you have picked up or been given one of the organization’s “Get Your Free Tree!” flyers, or downloaded it from the website, please mail your completed permission slip to Palisades Beautiful, P.O. Box 1072, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272. Or you could scan the form and send it by email to info@palisadesbeautiful.org. If you have questions, please call Barbara Marinacci at 310-459-0190 or Marjorie Friedlander at 310-459-7145.
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