Renewal of Washington Square Trees

The long-term management plan for the trees in Washington Square got underway mid-January, with long overdue pruning of the Italian stone pines along Stockton Street. The heavy undergrowth was removing, leaving a lacy canopy that lets sunlight through.  However, the pine at the north end of the row was determined to be structurally unsound and likely to fail, so it was removed as a safety precaution.

The Department of Recreations and Parks and Friends of Washington Square are discussing replacement for the lost tree and those that have failed or are likely to fail in the future.  Currently, the Department, Friends of Washington Square, and Friends of the Urban Forest plan to replace seven trees along the northern walkway, most of which have already been removed, with a flowering broadleaf evergreen native to Asia, Michelia doltsopa. The replacements will be planted shortly, thanks in part to a grant from ReLeaf, a California foundation that supports tree planting.

A species to replace the lost stone pines will be determined at a later date, but most likely will be pines or other coniferous evergreens.

Dense lower canopy has been removed, lessening the weight on the pines

Upper canopy of the trees has been opened up