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Avoid Construction Damage
Tree stress and failure are sometimes unavoidable on
construction sites but protective practices and vigilance can
moderate the damage.
To apply best practices and remain in compliance with
Sarasota County ordinances, erect secure barriers around
protected trees.
- Barriers should be placed away from the trunk at a
distance equal to one foot per each diameter inch of trunk.
- Keep the barricade area clear of building materials,
waste, excess soil.
- Do not dig or trench within the fenced area.
- Keep limited and specific service routes in and around
protected trees for access to the site.
- Place your access route so that heavy equipment,
machinery or vehicles does not come close enough to invade
and damage principal lateral branches, bark or the trunk of
any protected tree.
- Grading the ground level around trees, even a few
inches, can cut off the trees oxygen supply and encourage
bark disease around the trunk.
Avoid Utility Conflicts
Part of selecting the right tree for the right space is
harmonizing desired landscape with overhead and underground
utility lines and cables.
Utilities installation entails digging and trenching that
severs tree roots and may disrupt the root system’s ability to
anchor the tree. A tree’s roots typically have a radial
extension one to three times its height and severing a single
major root can ruin up to 20% the entire system. Increasing the
grade or adding soil layers can smother the root system as well,
endangering that 90% of fine absorbent roots that operate in the
upper 6" - 12" of soil.
Check growth space guidelines for above and underground for
the trees on the Tree Catalogue page. To determine the existence
of any underground utility pipes or lines, call
SUN-SHINE or 1-800-432-4770,
before planting trees.
Consult a certified arborist, who can assist you in selecting
protected trees for age and diversity and advise on groupings,
tree root systems and sensitivities.
Space Solutions
Residential
For residential landscapes, remember the following: don’t
mix turf and trees.
- Turf (grass) hinders water, air and nutrient
distribution to tree root systems.
- Turf brings lawn maintenance equipment that compacts
soil and injures tree bark, causing decline and in
significant cases, failure of the tree.
- Plan landscapes to separate turf from flower and
tree beds and mulch all tree areas 2"-4” deep with mulch
wells that circumnavigate the tree trunk to allow for
proper aeration.
- Ideally, mulch beds should extend at least to the
drip line of a tree
Mind Tree Root Root and Leaf
Systems
- Tree root systems can extend to an area three times
the diameter of the drip line.
- Refer to that mental calculation when you’re placing
trees near asphalt, sidewalks and building foundations.
- A tree’s height and width capacity in relation to
any overhead utility lines.
Check Your Fertilizer
- Some fertilizers, so-called weed and feed brands,
are indiscriminate agents and their weed-removal
properties may just as well harm the root system of
trees.
- Read fertilizer labels, check with your nursery or
garden supply store before applying any fertilizer to
the base or within the root zone of trees.
Commercial
Researchers have determined that consumers hold more
favorable perceptions of treescaped commercial districts and
those consumers are willing to travel greater distances, pay
for parking and spend approximately 12% in commercial
destinations landscaped with well-maintained trees.
Commercial property owners report less turn-over and
higher occupancy rates in treed over non-treed buildings and
complexes. Those trees can only enhance your commercial
properties, if they are well-selected and maintained and
follow some simple rules:
Signage
- Design your commercial outlets so that trees and
signs will not compete with each, chances are the trees
will be unnaturally cut or pruned to accommodate
signage.
- Shade and canopy trees garner the highest marks with
consumers, both for their beauty and utility.
- There is a cooling effect shade trees have on
parking lots, sidewalks and outdoor corridors.
- Use share and canopy trees with raised canopies and
to place your signs at eye level for clearance and
readability.
Parking Lots
- A well-shaded parking lot reduces ambient (within
10’ above ground) temperature and ambient ozone
production.
- Reduces gas evaporation in car fuel tanks.
- Increases sidewalk longevity by as much as 12%.
- Heat from direct sunlight and glare volatizes
compounds in asphalt and accelerates deterioration of
asphalt surfaces.
- Shaded asphalt, whether on roadways on in parking
lots, holds its quality and stability two to two and one
half times longer than exposed asphalt.
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