For Arbor Day, the Uptown Houston District is showing off the 800 live oaks earmarked for Post Oak Blvd. now being trained in Tomball for a life on the streets. The tree reboxers and transplanters at Environmental Design are breeding the trees on the company’s Tomball campus at 23544 Coons Rd.
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Live Oaks Training for New Post
Wow, those are beautiful!
So close! Just imagine how impressive it would be to have a forest of 800 post oaks on Post Oak Blvd. Unfortunately, post oaks don’t tend to transplant well compared to live oaks, which is why we use live oaks in our landscaping instead of post oaks. (Source: Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center)
More trees are always good but 800 is just way to many for the small area. Once the trees get a little bigger and a big storm comes through the area there we be a lot of branches in the street and a few windows taken out by the tree branches. Overall this is more trouble than it is work
Ah, the endless cycle….plant live oaks, ignore the ball moss strangling the oaks, replant oaks…..
@Brian D: These trees are the same kind as the ancient live oaks on Main Street, North Boulevard, South Boulevard, Rice University, the Menil and nearby areas. They’ll withstand hurricanes with less damage than many other trees.
Am I missing something? Is there a lack of nice street trees on Post Oak that we need all of these trees? Maybe they are for *another* Post Oak other than the one full of cypress and oaks between Richmond and the West Loop?
@artfox, those trees near Rice are not ancient. They were planted about 100 years ago by Teas. The only native trees in that area were along the creeks that ran into Brays Bayou through what is now the medical Center.
They are removing all the trees currently on Post Oak. They intend to put a BRT down the middle of Post Oak
They are going to remove all of the existing trees
man, folks just love to make stuff up. There is no plan to remove all of the existing trees from Post Oak.
I agree with the comment above. Allocate some of these trees to Richmond between Montrose and Kirby. It’s a central area needing more green.
What Where and When??? Last I heard, they were trying to put a bus lane down the middle of Post Oak, now more trees. If a bus lane is going in (not a good plan in my opinion) it will take more right of way and esplanade green spaces away. So where will the trees go? Aren’t there a lot of trees along Post Oak already? Oak Trees, although beautiful, are a problem near sidewalks and streets. Their root systems tear up pavement as they mature.
Perhaps for this?
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“As the area’s major artery, the rebuilding of Post Oak Boulevard has always been an integral part of the original Uptown Houston Capital Improvement Program. The Uptown TIRZ will rebuild Post Oak Boulevard while preserving the existing automobile access, substantially improving transit service and creating a beautifully landscaped pedestrian environment. Its signature arches, rings, streetlights and flowers will be maintained, while the Boulevard’s street trees will triple in number to more than 1,000 trees lining the thoroughfare. Pedestrians will also enjoy wider sidewalks, lighting and landscaping.”
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http://www.uptown-houston.com/images/uploads/Uptown_TIRZ_16_Budget_Receives_City_Council_Approval.pdf
Speaking of trees…North Blvd at Kirby was closed all weekend so the trees Wendy’s chopped down could be replaced.
Nice but what about Westheimer west of the Galleria to Westchase? A treeless, soulless strip of stark, semi-suburban strip centers basking in the barrenness of miles of concrete, asphalt, power lines and dated apartments in decline.
@Dana-X : It’s probably because that “soulless strip” lacks the TIRZ funding that gives Post Oak all the love.
And just to nitpick at the author of this article: Environmental Design is not a tree “breeder”. They are a grower. Plant breeders are scientists that work in clean-room labs to produce genetic crosses to develop new plants selected for factors like growth habit or flower color. Benary and Takaii are examples of companies that are considered breeders. If you’re just taking a sapling, putting it in a container, and letting it mature, you’re a grower.
@Dana-X – I agree – that portion is hideous. At least trees would begin to soften the blow, though Westheimer has a LONG way to go.
@Ross: I know when those trees were planted. In the ever-changing City of Houston, ANY tree left standing after 100 years of “progress” can be considered ancient!