- Lining parking lot on northeast corner of Leslie & Queen
- Photo: © Torie Gervais
These green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica) trees are not doing well. Their bark is damaged, and branches have been jaggedly cut off in the past leaving ugly stubs. The short twig elongation and numerous dead branches indicate these trees have low vigour. Green ashes are large growing trees that can easily reach over 60 feet in height. However, these sad specimens will never reach their lofty potential. The damage that has been sustained to the trunk and branches is only a small part of the problem.
The bigger limitation is what is not visible: the roots below ground, struggling to grow. A tree’s vast network of roots can account for 40 percent of its total biomass and can extend twice as far the canopy. These hapless ashes, however, are surrounded by hard surfaces with not enough soil for their roots to grow, dwarfing their development.
Perhaps most interesting though, is that if you look closely at a couple of the trees you will notice a piece of thick metal wire sticking out of the trunk at around shoulder height. This is the old tie that initially would have been attached to stakes, holding the newly planted tree in place. In time, the stakes were removed, but the tree had already grown around the wire grabbing it firmly in place, making it impossible to remove. To avoid this unnecessary damage tree ties should be removed after one year, and made of biodegradable material so they can break down naturally if for some reason they are not removed.
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- Previous stop: A modern alley in-fill
- Return to map of: Leslieville
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