Landscape Architecture for Landscape Architects › Forums › PLANTS & HORTICULTURE › 9/11 memorial Trees – Is anyone thinking? › Reply To: 9/11 memorial Trees – Is anyone thinking?
Rob HalpernI agree with all of that.
And continue to feel that a monoculture on this scale is a disaster waiting to happen.
Sadly, it is getting more and more difficult to select good plants for some sites. Old standards do not hold and a monoculture based on historical assumptions is not a sustainable design. New insects and diseases are spreading (Asian long horned beetles, anyone? Or Sudden Oak Death in the West?) and the climate is changing (how many records for heat and rainfall have been broken in the past 3 months?). A site such as this, a void among tall buildings, has its own restraints: shade, wind, and – due to the underground constructions – limited root run. (Trace One, making a case that what was native two centuries ago is irrelevant today.)