Four years after it began, my street’s saga with the Emerald Ash Borer is coming to an end for some of us. Today the city began replacing our street trees (the area between the sidewalk & street) with new red oak trees.
There are still quite a few dead trees yet to be removed this year, but those of us who have already had trees cut down were getting the new trees today.
In case you’re wondering why the city is replacing these trees, it is in the neighborhood deed restrictions. Originally, the developer’s rules required the builders to install a tree or trees per X-ft of frontage when they built a home. Once the home sold, then “authority” over the street tree became the responsibility of the city to care (prune) the trees. If they died, the city was to replace the tree(s) so the neighborhood would always be tree-lined.
There is a variety of tree species used throughout the neighborhood, but on my street, all the street trees were ash. Any ash trees located within the homeowner’s lawn are the responsibility of the homeowner.
I’ve written quite a few articles about the Emerald Ash Borer’s attack on my street’s trees, along with photos I’ve taken of the damage. You can access all those articles by clicking here.
NOTE: Scotts Miracle-Gro® now has a systemic insecticide for the Emerald Ash Borer. You can read about it on their web site.
When I came home today, I noticed a yellow card hanging on my door. It was from the Delaware City Grounds & Facilities Dept. They were notifying us that our street trees – all ash trees – had been treated with a systemic insecticide to control the Emerald Green Ash borer.
