|
Oaks offer the height, long life, magnificent canopies and colorful
fall foliage that make them an ideal choice for the memorial. But
they are prone to disease, which Nielsen said also has the planners
worried. That may mean choosing different species, rather than the
“monoculture” pictured in the familiar drawings of the memorial.
Chet Halka Jr., whose Halka Nurseries in Millstone, N.J., is one
of the top tree growers in the east, said that he has been visited
three times by architects and arborists who are scouting nurseries
for the memorial. He said that he can supply the 300 oaks, but that
the uniform height would pose a problem. “If they’re looking for
one size, then they will have to hunt all over,” he said.
The height of the trees will be limited by available space for the
roots and Halka said he was told that eight feet is the maximum
width of a tree pit at the memorial site. That, he said, would limit
the trees to about 30 feet.
Nina Bassuk, professor of horticultural physiology at Cornell University
and a consultant to the memorial planners, said she has recommended
that the planners lower their sights and look for smaller trees.
“They’re all going to grow,” said Bassuk, a leading expert in urban
horticulture. “But there’s the question of finding those trees and,
more importantly, the care they would need to get over the shock.”
Bassuk said that for every inch of caliber of trunk it takes a year
to overcome the shock of transplant. “Eight inches would take eight
years,” she said, “and that’s a long time.” (An 8-inch calibre oak
is roughly 30-feet tall.) Bassuk said she recommended that the architects
select trees that are half that caliber.
|
