Line up green goblins to welcome you
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A canopy of trees along the thoroughfares can usher in the much-needed green cover.
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Welcome relief: Trees add beauty to avenues.
With urbanisation expediting its tentacles, trees are fast vanishing into roads, ring roads, airports, apartments, flyovers and what not.
On the other hand, the ever-increasing traffic presents a difficult situation by adding to the levels of pollution, but, at the same time, necessitating removal of the tree cover for road-widening. The only way the balance can be restored is to grow 1
0 trees for every one cut down. What better way than going for avenue plantations to achieve this? New colonies and townships keep aesthetics as an integral part of designing. But even the most splendid concrete construction cannot match a welcoming line of trees on either side of the way in amplifying the beauty of the surroundings. Avenue plantations also play a vital role in reducing the pollution levels. They are desirable for shelter in the scorching summer.
Apart from avenues, parks and private bungalows are spaces that can be enriched through ornamental plants and trees. “Ornamental plants are more suitable for avenues because the fruit-bearing ones will attract monkeys and mischief mongers. Also, they spoil the cleanliness of the surroundings,” says an expert. Avenue trees may be divided according to their size and their growth orientation. There can be small, medium and big with subdivisions as straight-growing and shade-giving.
Growth potential
Smaller plants have a growth potential up to 18 feet and include all the Bauhinia varieties apart from Cassia fistula (golden shower), Cassia glauca, Bixa orreliana, Cordia sabestena, Erythrina blackii, Lagerstroemia thorelli, Laterstroemia flosreginae, Magnolia grandiflora, Royestinia regia (royal palm), Saraca indica (Asoka), Solanum macranthum (brinjal), Tabebuia avellanedae, Thevetia peruviana (yellow oleander) and such.
“Growth potential indicates the height of the tree when it is fully grown. Hence, it should not be mistaken to be the height of the plant when it is obtained from the nursery,” the expert cautions.
A height of 18-30 feet may be termed as medium growth and such varieties include Aegle marmelos (Bael Patri), Alistonia scholaris (devil’s tree), Anthocephalus cadamba (Kadam), Butea frondosa (Flame of the Forest), Cassia grandis, Michalea champaca (Simhachalam Champa), Plumeria assorted (Temple Tree), and Salix babilonica (Weeping Willow) to name a few.
“Weeping willow, named after its drooping branches, touches the waters when planted on a lake side. Thespesia populnea is called bhendi tree as its leaves resemble lady’s finger,” the expert says sharing his observations. Larger trees that grow above 30 feet and up to 50 feet include varieties such as Azadirachta indica (Neem), Bombax ceiba (silk cotton tree), Callestimon lanceolatus (bottle brush), Calophyllum inophyllum (Ponna), Couropita guinensis (cannon ball), Delonix regia (Gulmohar), Ficus benghalensis (banyan), Ficus religiosa (Peepal), Grevillea robusta (silver oak), Pterospermum acerifolium (Kanak Champa), Samanea saman (rain tree) and Spathodea companulata (tulip tree) .
Most of the larger varieties offer shade while a few such as Asoka and all of the bamboo varieties grow upright and form good avenues. “Almost all avenue plants are hardy varieties. One may select saplings with a height of 2.5 feet to 5 feet from nurseries for better survival,” says the expert.
While planting, a pit of 8 cubic feet may be dug and a dash of pesticide sprinkled inside it. It may be filled with good compost that contains 60 per cent soft red soil and 40 per cent farmyard manure.
The sapling has to be planted along with the earthen ball, without disturbing its roots.
After that, the compost should be pressed using thumbs and forefingers so as to support the plant without stiffening the soil. If need be, the plant may be trained up a wooden stake.
Watering once a day, loosening of soil once in every 15 days, and changing the compost in top layers once in every four months will take care of the plant for the rest of its life.
For better growth, NPK (19:19:19) in water-soluble form can be fed once in 10 days at the rate of four grams per litre of water.
Tree guards are a must to protect the tree from damage. Mild insecticide can be used in case of insect attack which is very rare.
“Grown up plants are available in nurseries for readymade effect. How much big a plant is, it should have been grown in containers when in nursery. Uprooting is not advisable as mortality will be high in such cases,” the expert advises.
Transplantation of any tree is not good once the tree reaches 30-40 years of age. Anyway, it is an expensive affair, with the cost factor equivalent to planting thousand saplings afresh.
SWATHI V.
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