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Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/625396
sidewalks for a business district, with building frontage at back of sidewalk, restaurant awnings, and some sidewalk café seating. There isn't a lot of room for trees to spread, and some business owners were concerned about having their signs blocked. When funding was provided to plant trees up and down Atwells Avenue in 2007, this seemed the perfect location to try out 'Musashino'. Still says, "The street called for a more formal uniform tree selection so, breaking from our pattern of providing diversity to each street tree planting, we planted 25 'Musashino' trees. They proved to be an excellent performer, with very little care thus far." Still was concerned about the tight branching pattern on a species already known for its jumble of branches all ema- nating from one area on trunk, at least with some zelkova cultivars. He says, "I was surprised at the nursery to see that although the branch pattern is dense on this cultivar, the attachments were solid and arrange spatially up the trunk rather than from just one point. They've also proven to be healthy growers without (I'm afraid to say) much watering or care from adjacent business owners. I hear tily recommend 'Musashino' zelkova when you've got a tight space and you need a reliable tree." Over on the West coast, consulting arborist and former longtime Redwood City, California city arborist Gordon Mann has good repor ts for the Sacramento region as well. "After a few years of growing, we are experiencing initial nice crown growth on 'Musashino' in locations with narrow overhead growing space," he says, "If the soil space is adequate, it appears to be a good deciduous tree to include in our pal- ette. The fall color has been attractive, and maintenance needs have been normal." Mann notes that, similar to his experiences with the narrow callery pear cultivars, the limited spread of the 'Musashino' crown does not appear to translate to reduced trunk diameter or root crown swell of the tree at maturity—hence the emphasis on adequate soil volume. J. Frank Schmidt & Son. Co. literature says that the slender 'Musashino' leaves are just 3 inches (7.6 cm) in length on average, reducing the need for raking/leaf cleanup in the fall. They say that the cultivar "prefers moist, well-drained soil but can tolerate drought, is pH adaptable, pollution tolerant, and more heat tolerant than other zelkova selections." According to J. Frank Schmidt & Son Co. Director of Communications Nancy Buley, based on a six-year sales history (2009-2014), the nursery sells an average of approximately 6,000 bare root liners per year. Purchasers during the query period are located in 26 states plus Ontario, Canada—testimony to its adaptability to varied climates and growing conditions. The SMA recognizes the underutilized, attractive, and extreme- ly useful 'Musashino' zelkova for its service to urban forests and encourages its use when matched appropriately to site and as par t of a diverse urban tree inventory. The coveted upright narrow habit of 'Musashino' www.urban-forestry.com 39