RECOMMENDED LIST OF STREET TREES (LARGE TREES - 40 FEET OR GREATER IN HEIGHT) EDGMONT TOWNSHIP DELAWARE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA BOTANICAL NAME COMMON NAME ACCEPTABLE VARIETIES Acer rubrum Red Maple October Glory Acer saccharum Sugar Maple Green Mountain Bonfire Fraxinus pennsylvanica Green Ash Marshalls Seedless Gleditsia triacanthos inermis Nyssa sylvatica Thornless Honey Locust Shademaster Skyline Black Tupelo Platanus acerifolia London Plane Tree Bloodgood Quercus coccinea Quercus phellos Quercus borealis Quercus imbricaria Scarlet Oak Willow Oak Red Oak Shingle Oak Sophora japonica Regent Scholar Tree Fastigiata Regent Tilia cordata Littleleaf Linden Chancellor Glenleven Greenspire Ulmus parvifolia Chinese Elm Zelkova serrata Japanese Zelkova Village Green Fagus grandifolia American Beech Native Species Fagus sylvatica European Beech Various A-1
RECOMMENDED LIST OF STREET TREES (MEDIUM TO SMALL TREES LESS THAN 40 FEET IN HEIGHT) EDGMONT TOWNSHIP DELAWARE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA BOTANICAL NAME COMMON NAME SIZE * ACCEPTABLE VARIETIES Acer ginnala Amur Maple S-M Carpinus betulus European Hornbeam M Crataegus phaenopyrum Tree form Washington Hawthorne S-M Cornus Kousa Kousa Dogwood S Halesia carolina Koelreuteria paniculata Ostrya virginiana Carolina Silver bell Golden rain Tree American Hophornbeam M M M Oxydendrum arboreum Sourwood M Phellodendron amurense American Cork Tree M Prunus Sargentii Sargent Cherry M Prunus serrulata Japanese Flowering Cherry M Amanogawa Kwansan * Notes: I. I. I. A. A. A. A. A. A. 1. Medium to small trees may be planted in area of limited space or where overhead wires exist. II. II. II. B. B. B. B. B. B. 2. S = Small; M= Medium A-2
GENERAL NOTES ON STREET TREES: 1. The above trees have been selected on the basis of the following criteria: a. Aesthetic and functional criteria including seasonal attributes, growth rate, maximum growth, habit and maintenance. b. Cultural criteria related to hardiness, ability to be transplanted, disease resistance and pollution tolerance. c. Availability. 2. Any substitutions shall be approved by the Township and will be judged by these criteria for approval. 3. Spacing of new street trees shall be determined by: local conditions, species or cultivars used, and the expected spread and height at maturity. Unless specified otherwise in the Ordinances, all large trees shall be planted 40 to 50 on center; all medium sized trees shall be planted 30 to 35 on center, all small trees 20 to 25 on center. Shade trees may be planted alternately along each side of the street. 4. Any deviation from alternate or opposite street tree planting shall be judged by the following design criteria: a. Plant groupings shall be coherent and shall promote unity of the overall planting scheme; b. Plant arrangement shall promote a visual harmony between structures and the natural setting; c. Plant location shall serve a functional purpose such as screening, buffering, complementing space, reinforcing movement or direction, and the like. 5. It is recommended that different species of trees be used within a land development to avoid a monoculture and its inherent problems. Increasing the variety of trees will help to insure tree survival in the event that disease or insects affect a particular species. Normal levels of disease and insects indigenous to a particular plant will not increase to damaging levels if there is variety within the planting scheme. A-3
PLANTING SPECIFICATIONS: Specifications for Trees: 1. All trees shall be guaranteed for a period of 18 months. Any tree that dies within the guarantee period shall be replaced. 2. All trees planted within the road rights-of-way shall be approved species and varieties and shall conform to the full requirements of the Township in size and form. 3. All trees shall be true to name, nursery grown, unless otherwise approved by the Township, and free of all injurious insect pests, plant diseases, or unhealed trunk or basal scars. 4. All trees, or at a minimum representative samples of all trees, shall be subject to inspection at the planting site prior to planting (it is recommended that representative samples of all trees be inspected, rather than all trees, in the event any or all trees are rejected). Plantings will be approved or rejected for cause. All plantings shall conform to the standards of the publication American Standard for Nursery Stock (ANSI Z60.1) of the American Association of Nurserymen, latest edition. 5. All plants must be dug with ball and burlap and shall conform with the ball diameter to depth ratio standards of the publication American Standard for Nursery Stock (ANSI Z60.1) of the American Association of Nurseryman, latest edition, i.e. one foot of ball for each truck caliper measured one foot above ground and shall be not less in depth than 2/3 of the ball diameter. Wire baskets which may be used to transport trees shall be removed prior to planting. 6. Trees should be planted in elliptical planting holes rather than the traditional straight sided holes. Holes should be dug at least two feet wider than the greatest width of the tree ball for trees of less than five inch caliper and four feet wider for trees of greater than five inch caliper. All trees shall be set on firm soil that has not been loosened or to which soil amendments have been added (this is to prevent future settling of the tree to below the point that the tree was originally grown naturally or in the nursery row). A-4
PLANTING SPECIFICATIONS: Check each tree for the start of the flair or root system and plant at that depth. Untie the burlap on the ball and remove it form the top 1/3 of the ball. Plastic burlap, if used, shall be removed. Use good quality topsoil in planting. Firm up soil to ensure soil contact to root mass. Water the tree until the entire root ball is wet. Thereafter, keep the root system moist but not wet. Injured, diseased trees and trees with broken branches or double leaders should be pruned. For trees with double leaders, remove one of the double leaders totally. Do not top central leader. Stake the tree using flat strapping or webbing instead of wire making sure the tree can move at least one inch in either direction. Double bracketing is best with a support on each side of the tree. Examine ties during growing season since trees can be girdled if they grow too quickly. Mulch saucer of tree at a minimum thickness of three (3) inches but do not pile mulch on tree trunk. Maintaining a permanently mulched area around the tree promotes growth and helps prevent mowing injuries. 7. Take customary precautions according to the standards of the American Association of Nurserymen in preparing plants for digging, moving, transplanting, and planting. Specifications for Shrubs: 1. All shrubs shall be guaranteed for a period of 18 months. Any shrub that dies within the guarantee period shall be replaced. 2. Plant material should be balled and burlaped or container grown. a. Spacing. Unless a hedge is desired, give shrubs room to grow by providing proper spacing; place planting holes on centers that approximate the height of the shrub at maturity. If set against a building, shrubs should not touch walls or be planted in the building s drip line where plants can be damaged by excessive run-off, falling ice and snow. Do not plant in areas that will have A-5
PLANTING SPECIFICATIONS: large piles of snow from plowing of parking lots or road ways. b. Planting. Dig a separate hole for each shrub. Add organic materials such as peat moss, leaf mold or compost to soil. Holes should be dug at least 8 inches wider than the shrub and the same depth as the ball. Plants must be removed from containers, and all plastic burlap must be removed. Natural fiber burlap may be left, but loosen top and remove from the shrub s stem. Set shrub at same level as grown at the nursery or 1 inch higher, fill with mixture of soil and organic material until the hole is 2/3 full - water. Build saucer around shrub and finish filling, tamping to ensure good soil to root contact. Water and cover with mulch, do not pile mulch deeper than 3 three inches. Prune out any broken branches. Maintain a watering schedule whenever rainfall is insufficient to keep the soil moist. A slow release fertilizer should be added early in the spring of the second year. Azaleas and rhododendrons and other ericaceous plants must be planted in soil with a ph value between 4.5 and 6.5. These plants are fibrous rooted and grow within the upper 12 inches of the soil. A mulch will keep the topsoil cool and aid in their growth. Mulch on all shrubs should be renewed yearly to keep down weeds, conserve water, and increase soil humus. Specifications for planting under wet and dry conditions (recommended for use in and around stormwater management basins and related facilities): In areas prone to flooding, a plan can be designed to create an ecosystem capable of withstanding occasional flooding, be aesthetically pleasing and biologically diverse, and limit the need for maintenance. As each site is unique, each site needs an original plan based on site conditions. 1. Wet meadows or basin floors. Clump-forming grass species should be selected rather than mat-forming grasses to allow space for wildflowers. Species used should be native or naturalized species where A-6
PLANTING SPECIFICATIONS: possible, with a mix of annual, biennial and perennial, and with a succession of blooming time. Soil tests of basin floors in stormwater facilities, including tests for organic content, should be undertaken and fertilizer added only if necessary. Where fertilizer is used, a slow release variety should be used as seedlings are unable to absorb large amounts of nutrients and the possibility of nutrient-rich runoff may occur. 2. Planting. In stormwater management facility construction, simply saving the topsoil of a biologically rich site, rather than burying it during construction, would preserve many of the rhizomes and seeds of native grasses and wildflowers. Seeds pressed into the soil by drills or roller seeders have better access to soil moisture. Drop or cyclone spreaders are effective as is hand sowing. Lightly rake over area or use tine harrow to ensure proper soil seed contact. Seed can also be hyrdroseeded onto slopes, hard to reach or wet areas. For best results do not mix the mulch in with the seed, spray the mulch over the seed in a separate application. Meadow species are mostly perennials and require several years for good establishment. Because most soil contains dormant seeds, it is not unusual to see weeds the first year. These can be mowed if they are in such quantities to cause a problem. Using a rotary mower is recommended as they mulch as they cut. The practice of allowing native species to mature before they are mowed allows many to reproduce and survive. After the second year one annual mowing either in late fall or early spring before April 1 will maintain the meadow. Woody invaders must be eliminated from the site, either by mowing or removal. A-7
TREE PROTECTION DETAILS: The Tree Protection Details that are enclosed are intended for use on various plans prepared in compliance with the Ordinance. The details include: Tree Protection Detail (Tree Group) Tree Protection Detail (Single Tree) Tree Protection (Fill on Level Ground) Tree Protection (Cut Level Ground Grass Bank) Tree Protection (Cut Slope Retaining Wall) Tree Protection Detail (Service Trenches) A-8