One of the many perks to our jobs here at the Brandywine Conservancy is that on occasion we get to spend time outside.  Recently, on a couple of rather sultry days (it’s still nice to escape the office for an hour or two) I had the pleasure of checking in with a couple of past reforestation projects located at local Home Owner Associations (HOA’s). 

Combined, these two projects resulted in the planting of over 2,500 trees by Brandywine Conservancy volunteers.  One planting is helping to establish a riparian buffer to improve water quality in a tributary of Radley Run, itself a tributary to the main stem of Brandywine Creek. The other helps slow the flow of water, capture sediment and nutrients, increase infiltration at the developments detention basin, and extend an existing riparian buffer onto steeper slopes.

It’s always exciting to see how the trees have grown since we last saw them!  It’s also a great opportunity to answer any questions that the owners may have about the continued maintenance of the tree planting.

Reforestation Stewardship

It’s a relatively new team of dedicated staff that oversees the reforestation initiative here at Brandywine Conservancy. One of our first orders of business was to check on all of our past planting sites - visit with the owners and evaluate the success of the planting up to that point. 

Not surprisingly, results were mixed.  Letters, reports outlining our suggestions, and an informative publication developed by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation were sent to all tree planting landowners shortly after our visits.  Visiting and following up on past plantings in this way has offered opportunities for our team to help guide landowners through the sometimes challenging world of tree planting stewardship.  Young tree plantings face competition from invasive plant species, aggressive annual and perennial grasses, predation from deer and voles, and damage from storms and floods.

Back to the Trees – Maintenance Q & A

After pleasantries, my hosts and I quickly headed to the trees to take a closer look.  Both of these plantings had last been visited in November of 2014 after leaf-off.  It was exciting to see how the trees looked with a full set of leaves and almost a whole year of fresh growth.

 As most things do, the plantings looked in far better shape in the summer sun than on a damp and cold November day.  Discussions quickly turned to questions about maintaining the area between the trees (a program of herbicide spraying, mowing, or combination of the two is usually best), when it’s safe to remove tubes from the trees (generally when the tree has reached a caliper of 2-2.5” at the top of the tube), and when, if necessary, it’s best to introduce understory plantings to augment what’s already there (a practice that can be done at any time, but may be more successful once the trees have started to close the canopy as most understory plants prefer the shade this provides).  We also discussed the benefit of applying herbicide in the spring and fall to remove vegetative competition and decrease predation from voles. 

As we went our separate ways in search of some cooler air, I’d like to think that all parties left more well-informed, me on how well the tree planting was doing, and them, on how to best care for their trees moving forward.

Cleaning Our Water – With a Tree

Following up like this is an important way that the Brandywine Conservancy is working to see past tree plantings succeed, and protecting and enhancing the waterways of our area for generations to come. 

Questions related to tree plantings or tree planting maintenance? Contact Rob Daniels, Associate Planner, at [email protected] or 610-388-8124.