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Plant Talk

Inside The New York Botanical Garden

Trees

Winter Injury

Posted in Gardening Tips, Learning Experiences on January 17 2012, by Sonia Uyterhoeven

NYBGFor the past few weeks we have reflected on the strange weather that we experienced last year, discussing the physical damage to the Garden during the October storm and the identifying characteristics that signal future issues. The erratic behavior of the weather from September onwards reminded me of a time several years ago when an Indian summer lasted well into December. The temperatures crashed in the following January and we experienced winter almost overnight.

Some of you may remember that year. For the broad-leaved evergreens at the Garden, this was the year for winter injury, and there are several reasons why a plant experiences this.

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Historic October Storm Hits NYBG

Posted in Around the Garden on October 31 2011, by Ann Rafalko

Storm-Damaged Trees at The New York Botanical GardenApproximately 15% of the 15,000 trees in the Garden’s Thain Family Forest have sustained at least some damage.

Many of the historic trees in the Garden’s beautiful magnolia collection have been damaged, even destroyed.

In the new Azalea Garden huge branches fell on new plantings and an ancient tree was lost.

The entire 250-acres of the Garden is littered with branches and tree limbs.

Our initial assessment shows that thousands of trees have been damaged and many destroyed. A complete appraisal will take weeks as much of the damage is high in the canopies of trees 100 feet tall or more.

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Storm Damage at the Garden

Posted in Around the Garden on October 31 2011, by Ann Rafalko

This weekend’s historic storm caused a large amount of severe damage to the Garden’s vast collection of trees and celebrated woodlands.

Blizzard-Damaged Trees at The New York Botanical Garden

Our crews are hard at work cleaning up the damage and working to save every tree they can. Simultaneously, we are busy getting ready for the beloved seasonal tradition of the Holiday Train Show. We hope that we will see you soon under the glittering dome of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory.

 

The Fate of Tuliptree #98

Posted in Behind the Scenes, Science on September 16 2011, by Sandy Wolkenberg

Ed. note: Sandy Wolkenberg is a Citizen Scientist who has been working in the Thain Family Forest for three and a half years. Over the course of a week on Plant Talk, Sandy will share a five-part series of posts on The New York Botanical Garden’s Citizen Scientist Tree Phenology Program. If Sandy’s experiences motivate you to want to know more about becoming a Citizen Scientist, check out the Garden’s Volunteer Program page.

The tree is more than first a seed, then a stem, then a living trunk, and then dead timber.
The tree is a slow, enduring force straining to win the sky.

~ Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Wisdom of the Sands, (translated from French by Stuart Gilbe.)

Following a major wind storm in the spring of 2010, the volunteers that make up the Citizen Scientist Tree Phenology program walked the trails of the Thain Family Forest scrutinizing each tree. We were mystified by the fact that Tuliptree #93, a giant tulip poplar, appeared to have vanished. We walked back and forth searching for the tree, and then searched again. Where could it be? We noticed a huge root ball attached to a large upended tree that had fallen back into the Forest. We speculated that this fallen giant must be Tuliptree #93. Our suspicion was confirmed during a walk with Jessica Arcate Schuler, Manager of the Thain Family Forest, when she found tag #93 on the reclining giant.  Alas, our first–but not our last–loss.

The circle of life comes full-circle in the Forest.