Tree Care Blog

Early Spring Trees: Pretty in Pink Yet So Much More

2013-04-21T14:07:00.002-04:00

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Supporters Gather to Push Greening Project Ahead

2012-12-26T18:19:00.002-05:00

November 2012 The beautiful Wendell Mansions apartment house at 2339 Mass Ave drew about 70 guests to a reception honoring the work of Restore Mass Ave on October 16. Mark J. Scott was the host; we all admired his recent renovation of one of the most amazing Beaux Arts interiors in Washington. Did we mention that Mark's row of large windows give wide-angle views of Mass Ave - including the

Restore Mass Ave Treekeeper's Diary

2012-09-22T13:10:00.001-04:00

September 2012 By Lina Cortas What’s that group of people wearing florescent yellow jackets hunched over under a tree during rush hour doing? We’re the RMA Treekeepers. Restore Mass Ave. Yes, we’re volunteers. We work in two-hour sessions, sometimes on weekend mornings, or on weekday evenings, whenever we can. We’re re-greening Massachusetts Avenue. We want to re-establish a

Historic elm planted by Blaine Mansion

2012-07-06T11:03:00.000-04:00

Whoa! Push! There! She's in the hole! The tree being planted below isn't just any tree. It's an American elm, Ulmus Americana ‘Valley Forge,’ a type we are helping to get planted along the sidewalks of Embassy Row. The men aren't planting it any old place but just inside the sidewalk beside the famous Blaine Mansion (2000 Mass). The new tree fills a gap in the line of "second row" trees on

Spanish Steps neighbors kick off RMA tree care season

2012-05-20T10:59:00.000-04:00

May 20 Our volunteer Treekeepers led a Tree Care Demo for residents of one of the loveliest nooks of Embassy Row at Decatur Place and 22 Street by the famous Spanish Steps. Sarah Randolph, RMA Treekeeping co-chair, explained to the crowd that young city sidewalk trees need "foster care" for a few years to get established. She urged neighbors there to "adopt" specific trees near their homes. The

British Embassy helps Restore Mass Ave's international outreach

2012-05-13T10:01:00.000-04:00

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DC trees get no grade on Casey Trees' report card

2012-04-30T11:15:00.000-04:00

April 30 Our city's trees got a mixed report card this week from Casey Trees. The overall grade? Incomplete. We got an A+ in Tree Planting, but "incomplete" in Tree Protection, according to this fourth yearly exercise by Casey Trees. Casey Trees is an independent foundation with the mission of expanding DC's tree canopy. [It has donated and planted about 125 trees along Embassy Row since 2007

City's tree canopy is expanding, says UFA

2012-04-10T12:15:00.000-04:00

April 10 Efforts to plant and maintain trees in the District may be starting to pay off. The Urban Forestry Administration (UFA) just reported that the DC land area canopied by trees is 6 per cent larger than previously reported. As of 2011, UFA says, 37.2 per cent of DC land was canopied; previous assessments found 35.1 per cent of DC land to be so. Some 825 acres of new trees were found in the

DC foresters lead pruning workshop on Mass Ave

2012-03-08T11:44:00.000-05:00

March 8 Today professional arborists with the DC Urban Forestry Administration (UFA) led an outdoor workshop demonstrating UFA's approach to pruning city trees with Restore Mass Ave volunteers. Top: Jacqui and Earl. Below: Marty takes a try. Tree by tree, UFA arborist Earl Eutsler showed the class that the lines of zelkovas on 23 Street that frame the famous Turkey Residence and Romania

New from RMA: How to protect trees from construction

2012-02-18T12:14:00.000-05:00

February 2012 Everything that goes around comes around. It's Embassy Row's turn to have huge street-digging machines as guests for coming months, as DC Water (formerly WASA) digs streets, sidewalks and yards. The Big Dig is part of a zillion dollar replacement, mile by mile, of the city's antiquated Combined Sewer System (CSS) to comply with a settlement with EPA under the Clean Water Act.

Catoctin protects trees during embassy renovation

2012-01-16T14:16:00.000-05:00

January 2012 One of Embassy Row's most famous Beaux Arts mansions, the Cameroon Embassy at 2349 Mass Avenue, is undergoing a massive renovation. Too often, "renovation" means overflowing dumpsters, huge fork-lifts, panzer-like trucks and piles of stones and pipes on a site's greenspace for months -- in the name of "fixing up the place." This time could be different. Catoctin Construction

Debate over DC tree law begins

2011-12-17T17:58:00.000-05:00

At a lunchtime briefing on December 5, Phil Mendelson, DC Council Member-at-Large, launched public debate over how to protect and expand DC's tree canopy. Mendelson has introduced a bill that would update the 2002 Urban Forest Preservation Act (UFPA) by protecting mid-size as well as large trees, and by moving the city forestry agency to a different department. Mark Buscaino, executive director

My Life as a Treekeeper and Other Stories

2011-11-22T11:36:00.002-05:00

By Robert NevittAs a Treekeeper with Restore Mass Ave, I enjoy outdoor work with fellow volunteers and building relationships with the interesting people along this famous street, widely known as Embassy Row. For example, I have become acquainted with the Embassy of Togo (2208 Mass Ave). The land between the Embassy and the public sidewalk looked to be a fine site for a new tree. RMA hoped to

Pruning Watch: Historic Crimean Linden

2011-10-16T23:17:00.000-04:00

15 SEPT 2011 THE BLAST OF BUZZ SAWS in Sheridan Circle made me hurry there, expecting the worst. The noise came from someone in a cherry picker, high in the branches of possibly the most remarkable historic tree on Embassy Row. In the surrounding lawn of Sheridan Circle lay piles of fat logs; clearly the job under way was part of the Park Service’s maintenance of the area. “No cutting down,

1904 Linden Beats Hurricane Damage

2011-10-16T22:55:00.000-04:00

7 SEPT 2011 EMBASSY ROW’S TREES were among the lucky ones spared when Hurricane Isabel swept across Washington August 27. One very large street tree behind the Embassy of Cameroon (2349 Mass) toppled; but its upended roots show it was a goner already and the city will replace it. A huge American linden on the northwest corner of Sheridan Circle lost a massive branch. We know and admire this

Hydrants can Water Trees

2011-09-23T12:02:00.000-04:00

15 JULY 2011 WASHINGTON’S HOT SUMMERS hit sidewalk trees with a double whammy. Heat from the sun above bakes the leaves and dries the soil. The sun’s heat also bounces up from the pavement baking the leaves from below. So trees are cooked from above, cooked from below, while their growing medium dries out. Ouch! So regular watering of young and vulnerable trees is crucial, especially trees in

How you can boost city trees with leaf mulch

2011-09-23T12:01:00.001-04:00

5 JUNE 2011 HERE’S ONE REASON trees in city sidewalks grow poorly: crummy soil that hinders root development. Think about it: the pavement around a tree blocks its fallen leaves from decomposing in the soil and feeding its roots, as happens in nature. Urban Street Care You can help sidewalk trees with a layer of decomposing leaves spread directly on the soil. There must be no barrier so the

Venezuela Plants 18 “Replacement Trees”

2011-09-23T12:01:00.000-04:00

1 MAY 2011 IN MAY THE Embassy of Venezuela planted 18 new trees as replacements for a very large old tree it sought to cut down, to comply with the DC tree law. This planting will extend the tree canopy over bare parts of the Ambassador’s residence at 2443 Mass Ave on the corner of Mass Ave and California Street. Fifteen trees were added to this campus, notably four new ‘Valley Forge’ elms that

Trees as Storm-fighters

2011-09-23T11:59:00.000-04:00

1 APRIL 2011 ONE WAY THAT trees help cities: a neighborhood with lots of mature trees needs less maintenance of underground storm drains and tunnels. Here are two storm-fighting trees Restore Mass Ave planted with our partner Casey Trees in March. In the foreground is a Northern catalpa (C. speciosa). Behind is a swamp white oak (Q. bicolor). Above: Northern Catalpa (C. Speciosa) tree (Photo:

Welcome to Restore Mass Ave’s Tree Care Blog

2011-09-23T11:41:00.001-04:00

2011 ABOUT US: Restore Mass Ave is an alliance of residents, foreign missions, arborists and non-profit groups working to rebuild the tree canopy and historic landscape that made Massachusetts Avenue a world attraction in the early 20th century. Through outreach and education we attract participation by owners of property, one third of whom are foreign missions. We spread the teaching of experts