The winter 2023 Narberth area tree survey continues... we added a few trees to the map for hope of future remediation.
Along the north end of Anthwyn Rd...
Along the north end of Haverford Ave and Shirley...
Along Merwyn Rd and side areas...
Saturday, December 31, 2022
Trees Mapped - Shirley & Merwyn
Sunday, December 18, 2022
Trees Freed - Haverford Ave
A bunch of trees on Haverford Ave along the train tracks are being attacked by climbing vines. Much of it is english ivy, but there are other types of vegetation here too. This property is across from Narberth township parks, but appears to be Septa property based on google maps (meaning it isn't well maintained). In prior years, some maintenance of a walking trail had been pursued, but on this round of observation, it seemed overgrown.
Going after a basic remediation, we started with the trees at the end of the train platform...
... and worked our way down the street.
This one area by the first culvert was tricky. It seemed that someone in the past had done the same thing, but missed the vine between the trunk and the rock wall. It took some work to get the right angles to cut underneath and along the tree without cutting the tree itself, but we think we got through it. (We'll know when spring rolls around!)
There's still quite a stretch of trees still remaining in this strip needing help, but after several blocks of work, we had to call it a day!
(Update: one word of caution. It's hard to spot poison ivy vines in the winter, it turns out the leaves drop unlike english ivy. It's been over a week, and still recovering!)
Saturday, December 17, 2022
Tree Freed - 15 Avon Rd
The tree along the street of these apartments is covered in ivy and had already started to overtake the mid-height branches. Within a year or two, it will reach the top canopy and strangle the tree fully. We went after a basic remediation and cleared a gap ring around the base of the tree so the vines will start to die off and decrease the load on the tree. Unfortunately some vines were too big and attached to the tree to snip, so a quick tree saw was required to clear it.
We'll keep an eye in the coming months to see the recovery and consider returning in the spring to observe new growth and consider remediating further if possible.
Thursday, December 15, 2022
Trees Mapped - Anthwyn & Avon
Tree Freed - 3 Iona Ave
Someone must have seen our original work at 406 Anthwyn and been inspired to free this tree on Iona!
Tuesday, December 13, 2022
Tree Freed - 406 Anthwyn Rd
This was the tree that provided the original call to action. We heard from a neighbor that the canopy had been surveyed by drone from above while surveying other vegetation on the street, and there was still hope here. But when you looked up at the tree from the base, it seemed like the ivy had already won the fight. The ivy had matured to a point where it almost looked like a different plant, and the lower ivy branches held themselves out 3 feet over the sidewalk from the trunk matching the thickness of the tree's branches. Here's a marked up photo from google street view from last June. (also note the smaller tree to the right starting to be attacked)
We started to remediate the ivy mid-October and it took several rounds of work. Initially we trimmed back the smaller vines until we could find the tap roots underneath. On multiple later passes, using a tree branch saw, we managed to cut gaps in the multiple tap roots and finally formed a full gap ring around the tree.
We were lucky that the owner of this property was supportive of doing this work, and even mentioned that they had already lost a tree a few years ago on the other corner of the property. Sometimes it only takes a knock on the door and a quick explanation to get permission to remediate!
We checked the tree out today, about 2 months later and this is how it looks:
The smaller tree on the right is recovering quite well as the vines were still small and are already mostly dry and about to fall off. The tree trunk on the left is becoming visible again even though there are still some green ivy leaves at the very top. The photo in the middle shows you close up how thick those bottom ivy branches were, and it might be necessary to come back for one more round with a pole trimmer and attempt to cut some of that off so that it looks better and doesn't become a lattice for another ivy climbing attack.
We can hope that with the coming spring, this tree will breathe and rebound without the weight and continued strangling of the ivy. It is better to have a short term ugly tree, than have a dead tree falling over and landing on utility lines, cars, and causing property damage!
Trees Lost / More at Risk
Outside of our local area, observed during a morning commute. Here's an upcoming row of trees along the roadside which look beautiful in June as you drive into them. They cool the road with shade and provide a sound buffer and privacy screen between the houses and the street. (photo sourced from within google street view)
But what happened in that gap on the left where the stump is? Let's show you what this looks like right now in the winter.
Without the leaves on the trees, even with the low light of morning dawn... you can see the ivy strangling these trees! That gap in the treeline was due to trees already removed due to an ivy attack! Also, look at the height of the trees compared to the utility lines on the other side of the road. If the extra weight of the vines causes a storm to topple a tree, it will likely impact the utility lines during the fall.
Lost privacy screen, lost wind and noise barrier, lost natural habitat, and growth that likely took 40+ years to create... this is why we should hunt ivy in the winter months when it is easier to spot!
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