LANDSCAPE DESIGN & MAINTENANCE by government

The subject this month has been on my mind for years -- I am finally getting around to covering it. Related, I am not certain whether my hypersensitivity to landscape/gardening incompetence and botanical illiteracy (plant ignorance) is a blessing or a curse, although given the preponderance of bad examples, it definitely seems more vexatious.

I live in Indianapolis, where there is no shortage of bad municipal landscape examples -- as I have pointed out before, Indy is NOT a gardening mecca. But it is not just Indy, bad examples are visible in just about every community I visit, which caused me to ask the question, WHY, and what can be done to remedy the problem? Before I jump into those questions, understand that I will be mostly focusing on trees (arboriculture) and will not be discussing overhead utility line issues. To elucidate my points I will be using specific examples, many of them pictured. The issues include: (1) species used, (2) placement (spacing and alignment), (3) ignorance of indeterminate growth (NO woody plants stop growing unless dormant or dead, the mature size MYTH), (4) specimens planted improperly (too shallow or too deep), (5) damage to specimen during transport or installation, (6) not creating and maintaining a NO MOW zone at the base (to prevent or at least reduce the likelihood of weed eater and mower damage, girdling) and (7) planting / maintenance crews ignorance (often attributable to laziness and an I don't care attitude -- just a job). The most common post install mistake is not watering adequately until established (i.e., roots growing into the undisturbed parent soil) which can take several years, especially depending on conditions (site and yet TBD climatic), age of the specimen and care during installation.

Let's start with an example I watched unfold near me about a decade ago. The city put in a bike/walking path along a quarter mile stretch of E 62nd west of Allisonville Road and then planted trees to finish it off. Eighty-eight 2-4-inch caliper specimens of various species were planted. Many of the specimens suffered damaged before, during and after the installation. Over half of the trees died within two years and were replaced. Moreover, the spacing was wrong -- 15-20 feet apart, center to center for species with a potential crown diameter of at least 50 feet -- and they were planted in a straight line making it look very manmade. Less than 50 specimens would have been adequate which, combined with the cost of the initial install, removal and replacement, I estimate the city wasted well over $100K of our tax dollars on this project. There are more than a few such examples around the city.

The second example (top pic above) is from Fall Creek Park at a community (Pendleton) just east of Indy (pic courtesy Tess Park). You don't have to be a rocket scientist to see this for what it is, STUPID. How are the trees supposed to get water covered with asphalt? Perhaps as many presume, through their leaves -- I am reluctant to use the word STUPID again so soon, but I will. Never mind that, as I stated above, no woody plants stops growing unless dormant or dead. In this case we are talking about sycamore (Platanus) which should not be confused with the European sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus). Platanus occidentalis can be enormous. It is not uncommon for American sycamore trunks to exceed six feet DBH (diameter breast height). The current Indiana state record specimen is nearly nine feet in diameter. I have seen larger! But these Fall Creek Park specimens will not because of an ill-advised (moronic) choice by the park personnel thus likely depriving future generations of the opportunity to enjoy old giants. Questions need to asked.

My next example (see second pic) is from along a stretch of Keystone Avenue on the north side of Indianapolis. This specimen is also an American sycamore planted six feet from the edge of the road. Reread the previous paragraph and do the math. Further, notice that there is no exclusion zone at the base of this specimen or any others in the corridor. No surprise that most of the specimens in the median have been girdled or cutdown by the mowing crew, including this one. The stems and leaves you see are from coppice growth from around the basal stump of the former bole. Notice also in the background dead specimens and now empty spaces. American sycamore is a fabulous species. Native Americans called ghost tree because of its appearance in the winter landscape. I am not alone in thinking it would have been a great choice for State Tree, but using it here was and is a bad idea. The planting and maintenance in this median is poor. -- In my Ranting book I reference a nearby city golf course where the mower guy damaged or girdled nearly every tree on the property.

The third example (see pic) is from along a narrow stretch of E 10th Street in Indianapolis. The impervious space (the dirt) between the sidewalk and the road curb is about three feet wide and the location involves utility access and, nearby, surface water removal (portals to the stormwater system). I am not sure what the rationale of the designer was, but he/she chose trees that get BIG (mostly bald cypress, or in this pic ginkgo). For the third time, NO WOODY SPECIES STOP GROWING UNLESS DORMANT OR DEAD. A biological fact. Forget what the label says -- too often including propaganda (half-truth or lies) intended to make you want to buy, entice you to give the seller your money. I have seen bald cypress and ginkgo more than 5 feet DBH, and they can and DO exceed that. Try to imagine that extraction expense and nightmare. No problem affording it, our tax dollar.

My fourth example (bottom pic above) involves maintenance, in this case trying to control the lateral (road or walkway encroaching) growth of Asian bush honeysuckle, an invasive shrub that is rampant in the Midwest. There are many millions (perhaps billions) of individual bush honeysuckle specimens in EVERY county!!! The species, there are several as well as hybrids, is extremely resilient and produces substances that impede the growth of competing plants (allelopathic) including its own seedlings. For this monster, cutting/removing the above ground portion is a pruning action NOT an eradication action. To get rid of the specimen it must be cut down and a stump killer applied (a method I usually DO NOT RECOMMEND) or you must extract part of the underground portion. I have discovered that significant root damage will kill the plant without needing to resort to dangerous chemical means. Well our municipalities evidently don't know this. Instead the DPW personnel use a sinister bladed device to produce hideous butchered specimens that simply regrow. I have tried to let the administrators/supervisors know about the more effective means, but without success. No response or improvement. Again, they don't seem to care. It's just a job. We deserve better. It's our tax dollars. They work for us. The decision-makers, the politicians and their surrogates, are either getting bad advice or they are ignoring it. Either way, some of OUR employees are falling down on the job. I expect BETTER. So should you. -- Indy has a municipal agency called Keep Indianapolis Beautiful (KIB). A few years ago I stopped by their building and told them we have some work to do. I have approached the city more than once offering to help. -- crickets.

I could go on for hours but will stop here, although I first want to point out a related issue that has caused me to shake my head many times -- the presumption by school administrators that their maintenance staff is qualified to make landscaping decisions (i.e., presumed experience/knowledge beyond use of a lawnmower or other power equipment). This is almost never true, although occasionally one may see better at university. For example, I was very impressed with the landscaping at Miami University (Oxford, OH) but disappointed by Indiana University (Bloomington, IN) though there are some good municipal examples there. And things change (e.g., the landscaping and associated personnel at my alma mater {Eastern Illinois University, Charleston} used to be outstanding, but those caring individuals are now dead and the landscaping there is now nowhere near as good).

Do you have similar feelings about the municipal landscaping in your community? Find a way to express your frustration and to get a remedy, e.g. consider (1) a newspaper editorial, or (2) attend a public meeting and let your voice be heard or (3) call the mayor's action hotline, assuming that option exists. I have tried the third option but in my community there must be a firewall between the call center and those in charge. The appearance of caring, but not really.

See also many of my previous postings, esp. Jun 2017 (Lazy & Incompetent), Aug 2017 (Butchery), Dec 2017 (Volcano Mulching, Again), Jul 2020 (Miscalculating), Aug 2020 (River Birch -- Overused) and Nov 2022 (Trunk Wounds). I also address many of the same and other related issues in my Rantings book.