From what I read, sounds as if the entire 400 will be Q. bicolor. Wondered as I posted this story why this particular tree was chosen, and by whom? What happens if some kind of swamp white oak borer finds its way onto one tree...will the whole grove be wiped out? Why not a mixture of trees, maybe some evergreens---for both symbolic purposes and to provide greenery for winter visitors to the plaza?
Not sure what there is against Quercus bicolor, it's a rather nice oak. But agree that planting 400 of all the same is not at all sensible.
One wonders why the official trees of NY, PA, and the District of Columbia were ignored. These are: NY---Acer saccharum, Sugar Maple PA---Tsuga canadensis, Eastern Hemlock D.C.---Quercus coccinea, Scarlet Oak
The maple can have trouble living in cities and the hemlock has a serious bug problem. Perhaps those points affected the planning process, although I'm not sure one resulting in a 400 specimen tree monoculture would have included such considerations.
I'm pretty sure I read a reference to these particular trees having been raised in each of the three areas hit, as in nurseries in greater Washington DC, western PA, and greater NYC. So kinda slap-happy attention to symbology with minimal attention to a healthy ecology. One of the purposes of a memorial is to keep people talking. While some monument statues have lasting impact as with the Lincoln Memorial, some sites with a sculptural esthetic and park like environment have far more to discuss. It's not simply the Viet Nam War Memorial, but that monument on the Mall in Washington DC is overwhelming in scope and emotion including the abomination some people claim it is. I know there are trees there and I'm guessing some are oaks, but I only recall that wall, the near endless litany of names on it and the teddy bears and valentines at its base. That monument is greater than the sum of its parts. OKC is the same: I can't tell you what is planted there but I can tell you how I felt. Maybe the monoculture at Ground Zero WTC is intended to represent the unified polycultural WTC population, or the anonymity of the population of metropolitan areas. It rather seems like a bureaucratic decision instead of an informed decision aided by arborists or foresters in the Park Service.
Pretty sure I saw the trees on some television show. About where they are at now and how they are being cared for. I think they even had the whole growing or storage set up with GPS, etc.. Anyone else see the video about them?