Yesterday, we obtained a new Master Planting Plan for Glen Canyon Park.  Nearly half are still shrubs and small trees. Still, it’s an improvement over the previous one, dated May 2012. It actually has some tall trees in it

[Edited to Add, March 2013: In response to someone who apparently said we “told lies” and specifically mentioned our allegation that a number of the so-called trees to be planted were actually shrubs, we offer our worksheet that notes the  links to the USDA sites that describe the Hollyleaf cherry, toyon, manzanita, and Western redbud as shrubs.

Click on the chart to go to a larger version of the picture.]

[You can read about the earlier plan here: Reforesting Glen Canyon with Bushes. The pie-chart below is from that plan. ]

WHY IT’S SOMEWHAT BETTER

The tree-and-shrub numbers actually add up to 163, the number SFRPD has been posting all over the place as the number of trees they’re planting. (The previous plan only showed 116, of which only 6 were tall trees.) Here’s the new breakout:

• Tall trees: 33. The six cottonwoods – the only tall trees on the previous list – are gone, replaced by 33 Coast Redwoods, Douglas Fir, and Incense Cedars. These will grow 80-140 feet high.
• Medium trees: 51. Pacific Dogwood (a medium-sized tree) substitutes Redtwig Dogwood (a bush) in the new plan. It’s rather susceptible to pests, which have wiped it out in many places; we’ll wish these ones a happier fate. Five Red Alders are also new. These trees are about 40-60 feet tall.
• Small trees: 38. That includes Coast Live Oak, included because it’s very slow-growing so will be a shrub in most of our life-times; and madrone. They’re about 20-30 feet or so.
• Shrubs: 41 of 163. The flannel bush and gooseberry and redtwig dogwood are gone; instead there’s redbud and toyon and manzanita (not the endangered kind). These are 10-25 feet tall.

The map above shows where the trees are going –

• the dark green are the tall trees,
• the pale yellow the medium-sized ones,
• the orange are small trees, and
• the brown are the shrubs.

For a more detailed PDF of the plan (which breaks it out by species) go here: FINAL TREE PLAN REV1 Nov 2012

ALLERGENS

Getting rid of buckeye from the list is good, they’re toxic to bees and the Canyon has two natural hives. [Edited to Add: One was wiped out during the tree-felling.] But we think people with pollen allergies should be aware that Coast Live Oak is a severe allergen, and Red Alder a moderate one. Incense cedars may cause an allergic reaction in people sensitive to cedar pollen (cedars generally are allergenic).