Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, November 9, 1994 TAG: 9411090037
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The company is now planting 100 fast-growing, so-called Smart trees in its two-state service area, including more than a dozen in the Roanoke Valley.
The trees, which are not commonly found in nurseries, are varieties that either grow rapidly to provide shade and, thus, reduce air-conditioning costs or mature at a height of less than 25 feet, so they don't interfere with overhead power lines.
Apco last week contracted to have 13 of the trees planted for the company's Roanoke division at Mason Cove Elementary School in Roanoke County.
That school was selected because Apco has a school-business partnership there and because the company thought it would be better to plant the trees in one location rather than scatter them around, said Apco spokeswoman Victoria Ratcliff.
Teachers and students will help monitor the progress of the trees for several years as part of the experimental planting.
The Smart trees - Smart is an acronym for Saving Money And Resources Together - are grown first in pots using special methods that help them develop faster than normal nursery stock.
The trees have a higher success rate because their roots are not damaged during transplanting.
American Electric Power Co. of Columbus, Ohio, Apco's parent company, is sponsoring the tree project.
Apco will plant many of the trees in its service area in the next several years. Information gathered from the experiment will be used to determine which of the 14 varieties being studied are best for various geographical regions.
AEP is working on the project in cooperation with Daniel Struve, a horticulturist at Ohio State University.
A new production system used by Struve allows trees to reach transplant size in three years, compared with the normal seven years for most nursery stock.
The trees also have a 95 percent survival rate, compared with a 50 percent to 80 percent rate for nursery trees of the same species.
The trees being planted are equally divided between the short, power-line compatible type and fast-growing tall shade trees, according to Apco.
The varieties are sweet bay magnolia, Amur corktree, Lentago/nannyberry, serviceberry, golden raintree, black gum, persimmon, swamp chestnut oak, Italian alder, swamp white oak, scarlet oak, black oak, Shumard oak and pin oak.
AEP hopes to see reduced costs for transmission-line trimming and maintenance from the use of the trees and reduced energy demand, postponing the need for new power-plant construction.
Studies have shown that an average homeowner could save from 20 to 40 percent of the costs of summer cooling by strategically planting shade trees, Apco says.
by CNB