The Virginian-Pilot 
                             THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Sunday, November 6, 1994               TAG: 9411040102
SECTION: HOME                     PAGE: G4   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: ROBERT STIFFLER
                                             LENGTH: Short :   46 lines

SELECT TREES TO WITHSTAND ICE STORMS

ALTHOUGH THIS area does not have as many ice storms as some parts of the East Coast, we still have our share. When that happens, large limbs break, fall into homes, cut off power lines and generally wreak havoc.

The University of Illinois in Urbana studied tree damage and came up with a list of those trees susceptible to ice storm damage. The list is based on previous studies and their analysis. University foresters classified these commonly planted trees, according to susceptibility to ice-storm damage.

Highly susceptible: Siberian elm (Ulmus pumila); American elm (Ulmus americana); honeylocust (Gleditsia triacanthos); common hackberry (Celtis occidentalis); Bradford pear (Pyrus calleryana `Bradford'); American linden (Tilia americana); black cherry (Prunus pseudoacacia); silver maple (Acer saccharinum); pin oak (Quercus palustris); and green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica).

Of those susceptible trees, honeylocust, common hackberry, Bradford pear and silver maple are regularly planted in this area. They not only are susceptible to ice damage but also to hurricane wind damage. There are better trees to plant.

Medium susceptibility: White ash (Fraxinus americana); red maple (Acer rubrum); northern red oak (Quercus rubra); tuliptree (Liriondendron tulipifera); sycamore (Platanus occidentalis); eastern white pine (Pinus strobus); bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa); and sugar maple (Acer saccharum).

Trees with conical form and low branch surface area tend to sustain the least damage. If you want to plant a tree that the university says will resist nearly all ice damage, select from the following.

Low susceptibility: Arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis); bald cypress (Taxodium distichum); Norway maple (Acer platanoides); catalpas (Catalpa species); ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba); American sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua); white oak (Quercus alba); swamp white oak (Quercus bicolor); or Kentucky coffee tree (Gymnocladus dioica).

All of these trees do well in this area. Gingko and bald cypress are especially good, under-used trees.

Keep storm tolerance in mind when selecting trees. Rains during the last two weeks make the next two months ideal for planting trees. by CNB