I thought K. might wade in to post some Pomoniana while I'm off on a business trip, but I see that I'll have to do it myself (said the Little Red Hen). Three cheers for Marriott's free wireless!
I learned something on this trip: When a fruit tree is dying, it puts out one last enormous crop of fruit before it gives up the ghost, called a "distress crop." The moment I heard this, I knew that was what went on with our plum tree this summer. The guy who was telling me about it said that often the crop is so big, it breaks branches (check), and the fruit, while plenteous, isn't very sweet (check).
Dawn Van Allen pointed out that the tree wasn't long for this world when she was over in September, and now it really shows. One whole portion of the tree is bare and dead, and the gems of crystalized sap that dot the bark are of increasingly-large carat. Once the hustle and bustle of Thanksgiving (the first time we will have had the table pulled out to its full length in the new house!) is over, we definitely need to make an appointment with Tracy the Alpinist-Arborist.
2 comments:
Meg,
Remember that as a resident in the historic district, if your tree is over 10" in diameter at chest height, you need a permit to remove it. If you have Dawn to verify that it's dying/dead, it shouldn't be a big deal. I just don't want you to be surprised if code compliance shows up the moment the chain saws start.
Anywhere in the city you need a permit for Oak trees (removing or trimming) and in the historic districts for any trees as described above. Heritage members are fairly vigilant since we've lost a fair number of really nice trees in the past.
Of course, we could take the lead from Claremont and replace them with plastic . . .
Actually, Dawn says that fruit trees are exempt from the permit requirement, given that they have a lifespan of 20-25 years. But don't worry, before the arborist touches a thing, I'll be talking to the city. The chinaberry tree, which desperately needs a haircut, will require a permit anyway (or so I gather).
Frankly, the whole astroturf thang in Claremont does not bother me. If they astroturfed Memorial Park, I'd holler, but little abused strips of grass seem like no big deal.
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