Tree Planting for a Healthy Community

Stormwater Benefits:

Trees capture rainfall, increase soil infiltration and storage, and minimize runoff.  This helps trees return better quality water to our groundwater.  Residential homes experience savings of up to $10.80/gal of stormwater captured by trees as a result of these stormwater benefits

Improved Air Quality:

Trees absorb huge amounts of air pollutants like nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and ozone and intercept particulate matter.

Reduced Energy Use:

Trees provide shade in summer and release water back into the atmosphere, cooling air temperatures by 5-10°F.  In the winter months, trees slow winds.  Overall, trees can reduce heating and cooling  expenses by 8-12%.

Business Benefits:

Trees can create a visual identity for businesses, and studies show that customers prefer areas with orderly, well-maintained planting schemes with tree canopies and accessory vegetation enough to spend 8-12% more at businesses with this landscape.

Proper tree planting techniques reduce fertilizer, water, and pesticide use. The best time to plant trees are in the early spring and fall.

Selection:

Selecting native tree species further reduces these requirements because these species are adapted to local temperature, precipitation, and moisture regimes, and native species have higher survival rates than non-native species.  When selecting species to plant, consider the sun/shade tolerances of each species relative to the site conditions.  Also check for any species-specific limitations associated with pests, diseases, or structural weakness.

Planting:

When planting your tree, the hole must be as deep as the tree’s root system and at least twice as wide.  Spread out the roots before inserting the tree, and adjust the hole depth so that the root flare (location where the trunk spreads out near the base) is just above the surrounding ground.   Then, backfill the area with the dug soil or a mix of soil and compost.  Mulch the area on top of the hole, but do not allow any mulch to touch the tree.  Water the tree with 5 gallons of water per inch of trunk diameter immediately following planting.

Spacing:

Trees that will have the largest mature canopy should be planted 20-25 feet away from each other.  At minimum, 10-12 feet of spacing should be between each tree.

As part of the Streetsboro Tree Steward Project, this project was funded by a Dominion Mini-Grant from the Western Reserve Land Conservancy and Dominion.  This project was made possible by the efforts of Tinker’s Creek Watershed Partners and the City of Streetsboro as well as the support of the Western Reserve Land Conservancy and Dominion.