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Uploaded: Thursday, February 14, 2013, 4:38 PM
Old oak in Rinconada Park to be felled
Tree is located next to a large oak that fell in January
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by Sue Dremann
Palo Alto Weekly Staff
Photos
 
| An inspection of oak trees at Rinconada Park in Palo Alto after a large tree fell onto Walter Hays Elementary School grounds last month has found one more tree that must be removed, City of Palo Alto's urban forester said.
The city conducted root inspections of similar oaks as the one that fell on Jan. 4 and discovered the roots of another coast live oak on Embarcadero Road were compromised, Urban Forester Walter Passmore said in a statement. City crews are scheduled to remove the tree on or after Feb.22. Replacement trees will be planted in March.
Crews inspected the trees by excavating and temporarily removing soil to assess below-ground root conditions. The majority of the root systems of the park's large coast live oaks are in fair to good condition. The Rinconada Oak, a designated heritage tree, has a healthy root system and is likely to live for many more years, inspectors found.
One oak, however, is in poor condition, poses a safety hazard and must be removed. The tree has severe root decay that has rotted 40 percent of the exterior of the base of the trunk and compromised large anchor roots. The tree is the nearest neighbor to the one that fell in January.
Tree decline is often caused by an accumulation of stressors, Passmore said. Old age reduces a tree's tolerance to changing conditions and reduces resilience to insects and disease. The root rot on the tree outpaced the tree's ability to grow new roots, which has reduced the ability of the roots to anchor the tree to the soil, he said.
"Trees are living organisms with a finite life span, and after careful consideration of the inspection results, we recommend that this tree be removed due to advanced decay in the root system. This tree has a high risk of failure due its condition and no treatment is available that will allow new growth to outpace the decay," Passmore said in a statement.
City crews will recycle the tree, and the wood will be used as mulch to sustain other trees, he said. A planting plan has been developed to replace the fallen tree and the tree proposed for removal.
Passmore said the goal is to plant more than 10 large-growing oak trees with compatible shade-tolerant smaller trees in the next two months. New trees can be established this planting season prior to mid-March, he said. Many of the established trees in the park will receive maintenance pruning and mulching to improve their health and safety, he added.Are you receiving Express, our free daily e-mail edition? See a sample and sign-up for Express.
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Posted by Joinpa, a resident of the Community Center neighborhood, on Feb 15, 2013 at 11:01 am I believe that part of the issue with these Oaks not surviving is the poor watering or rather overwatering of Rinconada Park. I have lived by the park for over 20 year. OFTEN you can be walking through mud around or under the drip line of these big oak trees. The irrigation does not accomodate their growth.
Once they start watering the lawn again you may as well where some rain boots while walking across the lawn specificallty between the tennis courts and Walter Hays School. The lawn is either soaked or bone dry in various locations.
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Posted by Barbara Slone, a resident of the Leland Manor/Garland Drive neighborhood, on Feb 15, 2013 at 11:10 am I was very dismayed to read of these trees being felled. I believe the one that they are scheduling to remove next was the tree that I climbed many times as a child. If it is the one closest to Embarcadero it was the best tree for climbing growing up in Palo Alto. I remember an incident when my little brother climbed up that tree (encouraged by me and my older brother) and had to be rescued by my Dad who had to drive our '42 Chevy woody over to the park. He stood on the roof of the car which he had to pull onto the lawn of Rinconada Park to rescue my brother. I was just walking past that tree the other day and had very fond memories of being cradled in it's boughs for hours. So sorry to see it go but glad that it will be turned into mulch and recycled to help nourish other trees. This is a good way of honoring the life of this tree.
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Posted by Native, a resident of the Community Center neighborhood, on Feb 15, 2013 at 6:51 pm I grew up here, and spent all my girlhood summers climbing some of these oak trees. This really saddens me, as they are like old friends. But it is true that oaks do not like too much water, it gives them root rot. Too little, and they are prone to oak viruses ( my brother is a plant pathologist at UC Davis).
The California Live Oak is a state protected species, and it is a shame that the City Arborist has not seen to their proper care.
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Posted by John, a resident of another community, on Feb 16, 2013 at 9:30 pm I have the qualifications to be a Palo Alto Forester-- see a tree; cut it down.
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Posted by Pat, a resident of the Community Center neighborhood, on Feb 19, 2013 at 9:39 pm I've lost confidence in the City Arborist after the destruction and loss of so many Palo Alto trees --Cal Ave, San Antonio, Eleanor Pardee Park.
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