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Partly Cloudy RVC Conservancy leads replanting initiative
One third of residents that removed pear trees have registered to replace them
Dozens of diverse trees will be popping up around the village this spring through an initiative by the RVC Conservancy designed to remove diseased pear trees and replant new species in their place.
The group, which works with the village to restore and enhance Rockville Centre’s trees, parks and public spaces, led a charge to remove sick and bare curbside trees in an effort to beautify the village and increase real estate values.
The removal of trees around the village in February was Phase One of the Conservancy’s resident-funded initiative, “Tackling Trees,” which was created in response to the spread of trellis rust — caused by a fungus new to North America — throughout Nassau County and elsewhere in recent years. The disease left many of residents’ ornamental pear trees partially or fully bare, or with discolored or blotchy leaves.
“After consulting with numerous experts … it is our opinion that the best option is to remove and replace Bradford Pear trees,” the Conservancy had written in an email sent to residents late last year. “Their life expectancy is [about] 25 years and many of them are approaching that in the near term. The fungus that impacts them is airborne and is causing problems Island-wide, so even if the trees are sprayed and leaf-out one additional year, the chances of this issue being eradicated are slim.”
Weeping Willow Tree Service in Oceanside removed the trees for $140 each. A total of 175 trees were uprooted, according to Rockville Centre resident Matt Cliszis, a member of the RVC Conservancy. As part of Phase Two — replacing the trees — the Conservancy secured for residents a discounted rate of $297 per tree with Joe Judge Landscaping. Residents had six trees to choose from, including Kwanzan Cherry, which was selected by about half of the residents that decided to replant.
But only 61 residents, about a third of those who had trees removed, ordered a new tree.
“I think it’s a little disappointing,” Cliszis said. “I had wished every one of them would be replanted and more.”
He added that he expects some residents to replant in the fall instead, like resident Ellen Grossman, who recently bid farewell to two pear trees that stood on the curb strip in front of her North Forest Avenue home for more than 30 years.
Grossman said she would replant through the village’s annual tree program in the fall, because though it is more costly, at $350 per tree, it offers a one-year warranty. She is considering choosing Japanese Lilac or Thundercloud Plum trees.
Arborists have advised residents that diversity of trees will help prevent another widespread plague among them. Still, the new array of curbside woody plants will take getting used to.
“I cry every time I turn on the block … because they also had memories for me,” Grossman said of her large pear trees. “I watched them grow.”
For inquiries regarding trees in the village, contact conservancyrvc@gmail.com or visit www.rvcconservancy.org/tacklingtrees.
