The Knox City Council was given an update about the trees in the downtown area when members met last Tuesday.
Mayor Dennis Estok said that after speaking with Professional Forester Gina Darnell, officials were informed that most of the trees reached their life expectancy of 20 years.
He added that some of them already had to be removed.
Estok explained, “Some of them, in fact we already took them out, there were two that were diseased, they’re gone. Then we had the one storm, so three of them are already out.”
Mayor Estok told the council that there is a possibility tree removal and planting could be incorporated into the Downtown Revitalization and Streetscape projects that have been listed in the Constellation of Starke’s Regional Development Plan.
However, if that cannot be done through Stellar, Mayor Estok said that the City may have to come up with their own program to address the trees.
In the meantime, he said they’ll just have to pay attention and remove them as necessary.
Councilman Jeff Berg requested some additional resources from Darnell that could come in handy when selecting trees in the future. She sent him a Tree Reference Guide as well as a Northwest Indiana Trees Species List.
Darnell also provided Berg with some recommendations and comments about trees that would be ideal for “tree pits” which are a common element of streetscape projects.
Those details can be found below:
Darnell shared, “As far as trees recommended for the downtown tree pits, here are a few with comments. Keep in mind the size of pit, canopy grow space, height desired and also that trees in pits have a shorter grow life. Twenty years would be a reasonable life expectancy in pits.”
Honey Locust—Not my favorite but popular and hardy. Favored by some because of small leaflets and open shade. Nice when young but I don’t like the look as they age out, and they drop pods. Used often in parking lots.
Ginkgo—Unusual shape, hardy in poor soils. Get males only as female fruit smells awful.
Swamp White Oak and Shingle Oak—Tough trees that may be harder to establish but do well in urban sites. Shingles hold leaves through winter before dropping which adds winter interest.
Kentucky Coffeetree—Used by downtown Valparaiso, with a few not surviving. Sparse looking branching when young, but nice when in leaf and mature. Tolerates salt. Buy the seedless variety as species drops large pods.
Zelkova—Vase shaped, not a native tree but used in many East Coast cities with excellent results. Similar to Elm. Smaller leaves. Vase shape requires less understory pruning and improves storefront street-level visibility.
American Elm—Get disease-resistant varieties such as Princeton. Vase shaped.
London Planetree—A fast grower with attractive bark and casts beautiful shade under large leaves. Does well in poor soils. Recommended where there is room.
European Hornbeam—Narrow and columnar and formal looking. May work well in certain locations, but do not provide pleasant canopy shade.
Crabapple varieties—Many shapes and sizes as the Tree Reference Guide shows you, but always chose disease resistant. Keep in mind the height and width needed for street and sidewalk clearance. I like Adirondack (vase shape), Princeton and Purple Raindrops (rounded). Crabs grow in tough sites
