Elmhurst Elms

We lost four more elms to Dutch Elm Disease in the 3900, 5500, and two in the 5000 block of “T” St. When the leaves turn brown, a city forester inspects and posts signs on the trees noticing removal.  A cut is made at the base and infected trees need to be removed promptly to arrest the spread to adjacent trees. These were large canopy English and American Elms. Elmhurst has many species of elms including Chinese and Siberian Elms. Dutch Elm Disease is the name of the disease, not the name of the tree. Last year Elmhurst Neighborhood Association, led by Kerry Freeman, planted approximately 20 DED Resistant Elms supplied by the Sacramento Tree Foundation. If there is a young tree in the planter strip in front of your home, please deep root water weekly and keep the grass clear away from the base of the tree. The City Tree Services Department has periodically injected the elms to prevent dutch elm disease and bark diseases.

The City of Sacramento Tree Services Division has received additional funding over the next several years and implemented a very good program for the city’s urban forest in a joint effort with the Sacramento Tree Foundation. The plan includes 2,000 new plantings per year, an additional Forester has been hired, a crew is dedicated to pro-active pruning, a citywide tree survey is being conducted, a 20% random assessment of the English Elms will be started, and many other good things as outlined in the Best Management Practices on the City of Sacramento web site.

Joe Brown