Blog

On Thursday, October 5, 2017,  we witnessed the planting of  two beautiful magnolias thanks to a generous donation.  Douglas Kale from Kale’s Nursery and Lanscape Services supplied the magnolias and did the digging and planting. He also donated a Franklinia to the park which was planted as well.

One of the magnolias is a Jane magnolia (Magnolia liliflora ‘Reflorescens‘ x stellate  ‘Waterlily’) which has beautiful spring flowers; reddish-purple on the outside and whitish on the inside.  The tree blooms in late spring.  The other magnolia is a Star magnoli (Magnolia stellata ‘centennial’). It has beautiful white fragrant lily-shaped flowers appearing in late winter or early spring.

Friday October 6, 2017, Rachel Brudzinski pruned five trees including the large Oriental spruce in the park.  Rachel  is a professional tree climber with a degree in Horticulture and  an ISA Certified Arborist.  She is  qualified in Tree Risk Assessment, and a Certified Tree Care Safety Professional.  Rachel recently taught women  how to become successful tree climbers at Morris Arboretum in Philadelphia.

 

The bark of trees, called periderm, consists of different layers crucial in keeping a tree alive. The most outer layer of the periderm, the cork cambium, produces cork that protect trees from bacterial and fungal infections.

As trees mature, the faster growing wood on the inside of the tree pushes against the slower periderm on the outside.

In some trees like the American beech the periderm just stretches and remains relatively smooth when the tree gets older. However, in most trees the periderm breaks apart and becomes inactive, and a new inner layer called the active periderm is formed underneath.

The reaction to the stress caused by the expansion of the inner wood is different for each tree species resulting in different characteristics and structures of the inactive or dead outer bark (rhytidome) and can vary depending on the age of the tree.

The American chestnut is a fast-growing tree best recognized by the distinct shape of its leaves and nuts enclosed in spiny burrs that break open and fall to the ground in autumn.

Before being wiped out by a fungus, the American chestnut dominated our forests and provided food and shelter for animals and people alike. Now, a new generation of blight-resistant chestnuts is being cultivated.

As part of the 60-year celebration of the Marquand Park Foundation in 2014, the American Chestnut Foundation donated and planted three newly cultivated seedlings in the park.  They all survived but after four years look very different.  The tallest tree is bushy and narrow in shape.  The second seedling has grown into a small tree with an elegant trunk and a more rounded crown.  The smallest tree still looks like a seedling, is struggling and still fenced in to protect it from hungry deer.

A bookmark to commemorate the American chestnut will be available in the Treehouse library near the parking lot.  For more information about the backcross breeding project of the American Chestnut Foundation, please consult www.acf.org.