Dr. Kimmerer, what tree varieties would you recommend for shading a playground located in an exposed parking lot? There were two old hackberry trees that broke in high winds and were removed (bummer). Now that their ample shade is missing the heat is really scorching the turf on the playground...and the kids. My wife runs a preschool in Nashville. Asking for her.
For Nashville, I would recommend chinkapin oak. It's a native in the Nashville Basin, and exceptionally heat and drought tolerant. I hope you can mitigate the site as much as possible to keep pavement away from the trees. Now the challenge: if possible, you would be better off with seedlings from a nursery, rather than clones. We can do that in Kentucky, but I don't know your market very well. You may want to ask the staff at Radnor Lake and a few of your other natural areas to see if they can recommend a source. Good Luck!
Plant anything, but pay attention to the soil! We plant and then forget. We plant individual trees, forgetting the web of fungi, underground, that feeds and nourishes them. The Miyawaki method increases success rate, brings back biodiversity and grow faster. We also recommend inoculated biochar to help with nourishment and water retention.
Dr. Kimmerer, what tree varieties would you recommend for shading a playground located in an exposed parking lot? There were two old hackberry trees that broke in high winds and were removed (bummer). Now that their ample shade is missing the heat is really scorching the turf on the playground...and the kids. My wife runs a preschool in Nashville. Asking for her.
For Nashville, I would recommend chinkapin oak. It's a native in the Nashville Basin, and exceptionally heat and drought tolerant. I hope you can mitigate the site as much as possible to keep pavement away from the trees. Now the challenge: if possible, you would be better off with seedlings from a nursery, rather than clones. We can do that in Kentucky, but I don't know your market very well. You may want to ask the staff at Radnor Lake and a few of your other natural areas to see if they can recommend a source. Good Luck!
Excellent! I know that tree. Thank you. I hope she can locate one or more through the preschool parent who has offered to help.
Plant anything, but pay attention to the soil! We plant and then forget. We plant individual trees, forgetting the web of fungi, underground, that feeds and nourishes them. The Miyawaki method increases success rate, brings back biodiversity and grow faster. We also recommend inoculated biochar to help with nourishment and water retention.