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Canadian Urbanism Uncovered

Tree Tuesday: The Old Ash That Was and Why

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Despite 17 years of crossing regularly Square St-Louis, it was only last summer when I noticed a glorious old ash among the predominant silver maples. Growing along the north side of the square, in between Laval and Henri-Julien streets, its buff coloured bark, deeply crevaced in the diamond shapes that are typical of the northern red ash species (frêne rouge, Fraxinus pensylvanica), the tree suddenly stood out. I followed the great girth of its trunk skyward and locked eyes with a squirrel that had paused to negotiate its next leap.

Ash trees that size are rare in the city. While the tree is one of the most commonly planted in parks and streets, most aren’t more than 20 years old. The only other I’d seen of similar stature was in a damp patch of the lower east flank of Mount Royal.

This is a tree that likes the wet, that can take spring flooding. It’s natural habitat is alongside rivers in the company of other floodplain trees such as white elms and silver maples. Paradoxically, that’s what makes it a good urban tree. Riverside soil that is regularly flooded in spring is soil that is compacted and low in oxygen. Sound familiar? Yes, those characteristics are just what you find in the tree plots cut into the sidewalk and in high-traffic parks.

When I became conscious of that tree, I began to wonder if it had been planted when the square became a park in 1880 or if it was a vestige of the de Courville farmland acquired in 1848 by the City of Montreal to create a municipal reservoir. The Ruisseau de la Côte à Baron  once ran through that sector and the tree would have been in the right habitat. Here’s a photo of the square in the late 19th century:

Judging by its size, I guessed my ash to be between 100 and 150 years, meaning that it was most likely planted when the edge of the square was landscaped around the open reservoir (which was closed in 1879 when the McTavish Reservoir opened). In the above photo, it would be one of the first trees at the northwest corner of the fountain. The young trees planted around the fountain are mostly likely white elms.

Now, if I had the time and the certainty — I’m not a dendrologist, just an observer — I could count the rings. For, as you have certainly guessed from the photo at the top of the article, my ash is no more. Sometime within the past week, it was cut down. (The photo below, taken by Alanah Heffez in an NDG alley, gives you an idea of the bark on this younger — 50-year-old? —  ash. Unfortunately, I have not photo of the old tree.).

I was saddened though not outraged when my friend Charles delivered the news after crossing the square. I had already noticed a few old silver maples chopped down in Parc La Fontaine and I know the city tree service has to be diligent in taking down the trees that pose a danger to citizens. I suppose the ash was in that category. Certainly, it had already lost a major branch and, as I recall, there was a good split in the trunk. When I visited the stump, I’d hoped to find an explanation posted which is the new procedure in the Arrondissement Le Plateau-mont-Royal when a tree must come down.

When I found no such explanation, I called Lynda Genois, an arborist for the arrondissement and someone who has been very helpful. Not aware of this particular tree, she assured me that no trees comes down needlessly and I do believe her. Given that it will take a while before the young trees reach the grandeur of the old silver maples, Norway maples and lindens  that line some of the wider main arteries and the residential streets where city trees are planted on front lawns, the tree services of the various arrondissements work to keep the old trees going.

Gregg Staniforth, an arborist in NDG-Côte-des-Neiges says that in his borough the decision to prune or chop down a tree includes such factors as when a tree is declining or dead, shows weak forks or decay at a structurally vulnerable area, or a combination of several factors. “A Norway maple, for instance, has lots of very large leaves and if the tree has a weak fork, there could be pressure on that fork in the event of a big wind. The location of the tree would be another factor in deciding to take it down or, perhaps, to preserve it with mechanical bracing or cabling.”

Staniforth keeps a list of trees to monitor, such as those showing signs of weakness, such as a branch with no leaves or leaves that die suddenly, or a crack that is widening and remaining wide. “Not every crack is dangerous,” he emphasizes, explaining that some trees, like lindens and Norway maples, frequently develop frost cracks, cracks that appear in winter with the expansion of water, trapped in the tree, as it freezes, then scar over in spring.

He notes that citizens frequently call with request to have a branch removed, a tree pruned and, in some cases, removed. “Most of our work is generated from calls,” he notes, saying that so far, in 2008, his service has received 2,000 calls. “That’s partly because we have so many old trees,” he says, speculating that in inner city areas, such as Ville Marie, where there are many new trees being planted, it is likely that fewer citizens call the tree service.

Unfortunately, I never reached the person responsible for the fate of the Square St-Louis ash. So, I can’t tell you exactly why it came down, what happened to the wood and whether it will be replaced. I hope to have those answers by next Tuesday.

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8 comments

  1. I noticed the loss and am eager to find out whatever you uncover.

    Thanks for noticing details like these.

  2. I have been noticing since I live in Montreal, that a for me inappropriate number of trees seems to be cut down. At the same time, there are very very few big old trees in this city, which is sad, because they create a very nice atmosphere, if you have a plaza or an interior court completely shadowed by such a large old tree.

    It seems to me that a tree can be cut down here without ‘good’ reason, still alive – they are not well protected.
    For instance, in Vienna, our (often hundreds of years old) trees are so well protected, it might actually be easier to destroy a (historically protected) house than cut down a tree! It is simply not permitted to cut down a tree that is still alive although branches are being pruned of course.

    I remember an accident from a few years ago where a tree fell in a storm and actually killed somebody. Put this in relation with traffic which kills almost thousand people every year in Quebec. So while there is a minimal risk, I’d rather have some nature to look at.

    Every time I see a stump of a big tree it makes me sad – these trees are often older than us, the people that cut them down, or the houses around. That age should be respected …

  3. I love these tuesday tree articles. Thank you for this!

  4. Thanks very much for following up on the fate of this tree and giving us a general overview of the process. I suspect that what happens here is that there is a decent general policy, but that it is often not followed by the workers and the various sub-departments. So someone gets a call to cut down a tree, they may just go do it rather than bother with the hassle of the paperwork and checking up, etc.

    Also, what is the replacement policy? Should they not be putting in new trees where old ones go down?

    I look forward to hearing the results of your further investigation into this tree in particular. Your positive persistency is the best strategy!

  5. A large section of this tree fell down this summer during a particularly windy storm. I don’t know if you live near the Square, but the debris stayed there for a day or two. I assume the city took down the last remaining bits that stood as a security measure…

  6. i live in rivier des prairies montreal and we don’t have huge tree like in downtown. but on my street, we have 30 year old sugar maples that are just beautiful and every single house has one. know if you look on the other street (the street in back of our street) which is the same exact age as our street, you notice that there arn’t many sugar maples of other big trees at all (not even smaller ones), in fact there is only one remaining which i find pretty empty compaired to my street.

    the bottom line is that you should never cut down a big and old living tree from your lawn because if one does it, the rest follows and that’ what happened on that street.

  7. Jimmy, you’re so lucky to have sugar maples on your street. You rarely find these spectacular maples on the street because they don’t tolerate salt and air pollution. They also like a rich and well-drained soil.

    Ironically, all of us who live in the southwest triangle of Quebec and along the Ottawa River, inhabit the maple sugar-bitternut hickory forest domain which means that those two trees were the dominant trees in a stable forest. This is the same forest that is rich in such spring flowers as trilliums, bloodroot and trout lillies. In fact, it is the forest with the greatest biodiversity anywhere in Quebec — and the most people. So, it’s really important to protect the trees, like your maples, that are native to that forest and, of course, to plant more.

    By the way: Has anyone ever tapped the sugar maples on your street?

  8. On Sept. 11, 2009, 33 old trees out of 78 were cut down on Highlands ave. in LaSAlle (the street is only 2 blocks long), with only 24 hours of notice to the residents.
    This has only been covered by CTV News on Sept 15, and by TVA on Sept.14.

    ALL THE “BIG” NEWSPAPERS ARE STUBBORNLY SILENT.
    All that you can do to help would be appreciated.

    Could Spacing Montreal do an article about this scandal ?

    Would you know other magazines or media that could cover this massacre?

    Or maybe you know people who could help us.

    Thanking you in advance

    Élizabeth Bertrand
    32 Highlands
    LaSalle (Montreal)Qc
    H8R 3N1

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