THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 1, 1996 TAG: 9603010457
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DEBBIE MESSINA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 84 lines
Resort planners envisioned a lush canopy of green leaves overhanging Atlantic Avenue and shading summertime visitors who stroll the bustling strip.
Instead, they ended up with bare, sickly twigs interspersed with full, healthy trees.
Salt and wind at the Oceanfront have ravaged the new trees. Many of the Bloodgood sycamores that dot the landscape have not survived the harsh conditions. About 90 dead trees are replaced each year at a cost of $125 to $130 each. Others are washed down by city crews after storms to remove crystalized salt.
The dying trees are like a black eye on the face of the $41 million resort makeover.
``It looks bad down there,'' said Bonnie Appleton, a Virginia Tech nursery specialist and horticulturist at the Hampton Roads Agriculture Research and Extension Center. ``In one of the 30s blocks there are no live trees.''
In hopes of finding attractive trees that are hardy enough to withstand the elements, tree experts are planting four species along Atlantic Avenue that will be monitored over a two-year period.
They are: lacebark elm, fruitless sweet gum, loquat and goldenrain trees.
The experiment is part of a research project conducted by the city's Landscape Services Division and Virginia Tech, with the help of a $4,500 grant from the Virginia Department of Forestry, to study tree survival in a maritime environment.
It will be a challenge to find something that can withstand the punishing conditions at the resort strip: salt-laden air, northeaster winds, wind tunnels created by buildings, heavy traffic, car exhaust, reflected heat from the pavement, vandalism and abuse.
A variety of trees have been tried unsuccessfully, including live oaks and Lombardy poplars. Many other varieties have been ruled out - some because their branches hang too low and interfere with traffic and others because their gum balls or pine cones are too messy.
Few studies have been done on trees in these conditions. The limited research available when trees were first chosen for the streetscape project in the late 1980s indicated that Bloodgood sycamores were the best suited.
But their performance has been disappointing, particularly in locations that have direct Oceanfront exposure or where buildings create wind tunnels.
``There's kind of like a one-two punch out there,'' Appleton said. ``It's the salt air combined with the intensity of the wind that delivers it.''
But the trees have fared well where hotels block direct exposure or in areas more than a block removed from the Oceanfront.
``As we got further and further from protections, we saw more devastation,'' Appleton said. ``But we can't move buildings or erect screens.''
So Appleton and city arborist Roger Huff have rounded up four tree species they believe have a fighting chance. They identified four blocks along Atlantic Avenue that represent varying climate conditions - protected, partially protected and fully exposed.
Nine trees of the same species will be planted in each one-block area - three trees within each of the three categories of weather exposure. ``We're hoping to find something out of this group that will thrive and will fit into the aesthetic scheme on Atlantic Avenue,'' Huff said. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
Color photos
LACEBARK ELM\ Test location: between 18th and 19th streets.
Semi-evergreen with thick but small leaf. It may hold leaves
year-round. Bark is multicolored.
FRUITLESS SWEET GUM
Test location: between 33rd and 34th streets. Sterile variety of
the sweetgum that does not produce spiny fruit balls. Has a thick
leaf.
LOQUAT
Test location: between 35th and 36th streets. Evergreen shrub
tree that can be trained into street tree. Has white flower that
blooms in fall.
GOLDENRAIN
Test location: to be determined. Grows naturally on Korean coast
and is considered an ideal street tree. Has yellow flower that
blooms in June.
by CNB