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Growing Trees in Stones
https://montpelierbridge.org/2024/06/growing-trees-in-stones/Growing Trees in Stones
By Jenny Blair - June 11, 2024
Montpelier Parks Director Alec Ellsworth, left, and former city arborist Adam McCullough plant a honey locust tree on Main Street (in front of Yankee Wine and Spirits), wrapped in burlap, sizing up how it may need to be adjusted for proper placement for “Stockholm method” planting. Photo by John Snell.
Montpelier’s street trees often live short lives. Roots hit impenetrable compacted soils once they outgrow their planted space, often a meager 4-foot-by-4-foot square. But now, new trees taking root under downtown sidewalks should grow tall and survive to old age, thanks to a new planting method that lets them thrive in tough urban environments.
This month, the Montpelier Parks Department plans to plant two saplings on Main Street in front of Walgreens and the American Legion. Workers will prepare beds under the sidewalk using the Stockholm tree pit method, which balances the need for structural support with the trees’ needs for airy, spacious, and nutrient-rich soils.
Enter Structural Soil
Several years ago Montpelier tree officials decided to try an innovative approach. Developed in Stockholm, Sweden, the method involves digging out a generous pit, or tree well, along 500 square feet of sidewalk, then filling it with 3- to 5-inch-diameter stones that can support compression from above.
Spaces between the stones are then filled with a mix of compost and biochar, a carbon-rich, charcoal-like substance, allowing space for roots to grow and find nutrients and air.
[...]
By Jenny Blair - June 11, 2024
Montpelier Parks Director Alec Ellsworth, left, and former city arborist Adam McCullough plant a honey locust tree on Main Street (in front of Yankee Wine and Spirits), wrapped in burlap, sizing up how it may need to be adjusted for proper placement for “Stockholm method” planting. Photo by John Snell.
Montpelier’s street trees often live short lives. Roots hit impenetrable compacted soils once they outgrow their planted space, often a meager 4-foot-by-4-foot square. But now, new trees taking root under downtown sidewalks should grow tall and survive to old age, thanks to a new planting method that lets them thrive in tough urban environments.
This month, the Montpelier Parks Department plans to plant two saplings on Main Street in front of Walgreens and the American Legion. Workers will prepare beds under the sidewalk using the Stockholm tree pit method, which balances the need for structural support with the trees’ needs for airy, spacious, and nutrient-rich soils.
Enter Structural Soil
Several years ago Montpelier tree officials decided to try an innovative approach. Developed in Stockholm, Sweden, the method involves digging out a generous pit, or tree well, along 500 square feet of sidewalk, then filling it with 3- to 5-inch-diameter stones that can support compression from above.
Spaces between the stones are then filled with a mix of compost and biochar, a carbon-rich, charcoal-like substance, allowing space for roots to grow and find nutrients and air.
[...]