This graceful ash in Lerdahl Park may be a candidate for adoption.
The arrival of the emerald ash borer within the city of Madison was brought home to me a few weeks ago through the stark buzzing of a chainsaw. A crew took down a good-sized ash in the park next to my house. It was a tree I had never paid much attention to before, but now its raw stump, spray-painted orange, remains as a rebuke to my thoughtlessness.
The crew pointed out another park ash, this one a tree I look at often from the living room window. It may have to be removed too -- or it may be a candidate for a new program from the Parks Department, called Adopt-a-Park Tree.
Some ash trees are treatable. The state's emerald ash borer program advises that insecticides are effective if the tree is "apparently healthy or less than 40% of the crown has died, is discolored or has sparse foliage." A tree can be infested and yet have no symptoms for two to three years.
The Parks Department, however, has no money currently in its budget for ash treatment, explains spokeswoman Laura Whitmore. "People want to help," says Whitmore, identifying residents like me, who live adjacent to parks and may have developed fondness for a particular tree, as those they envisioned when they planned the program.
If there's a park ash tree you're interested in adopting, fill out the form on the parks website. City forestry will evaluate the tree's health and determine if it is a candidate for treatment. Another requirement: The tree must be greater than 10 inches in diameter (at 4-1/2 feet).
If the tree is accepted, the ball is in the adopter's court to hire a city-approved tree contractor (there's a list provided) for treatment. The only approved treatment is liquid injection of an insecticide, which may be done once a year or every two years. Cost depends on the size of the tree. Darrell Krenz, co-owner of Capital City Tree Experts, says the treatment for a common-sized ash, 19 to 20 inches in diameter, would be about $220 for two years of care.
The adoption has to be renewed before each treatment cycle. Like any adoption, this one is a long-term commitment.
The adoption program is for trees in city parks only. It does not apply to the many ash trees that have been planted in street terraces.
Lastly -- is it an ash? It's not necessary to wait until leaves come out to ID an ash. The branches are unusual in that they come out of the limb one on each side opposite the other, instead of being staggered as with most trees. Once the leaves do come out they are compound, with five to 11 smaller leaves on a stem. The leaves have very fine teeth or mostly smooth edges.
