Shade for a Brighter Future
Audrey Hepburn said, “To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow”.
Anyone who has tried their hand at gardening understands that when you plant something, there is a presumption that you will be rewarded with a flower. You invest in watering, pruning, and fertilizing, trusting that one day you will experience the fruit of your labor. But in that moment of covering the roots with soil, all you have is hope. This gardener’s mindset applies to everything you put in the ground from tomatoes to trees. At Rainbow, we dream of a vibrant green urban forest shading our community and that starts today, with a well-planted tree.
Dead ash trees marked for removal
Many of the Twin Cities’ mature ash trees are being removed daily due to the destruction of an invasive pest called emerald ash borer (EAB). These trees are dying and being removed at a rate most communities can’t keep up with. All the benefits those mature trees provided are gone in an instant. These trees across our neighborhoods should and need to be replaced. The only question remaining is, “how do we re-plant all these trees?”
Anyone can plant a tree, but not all trees are created equal. Many trees that are sold in containers are planted too deep to start with. Not to mention, they usually have circling roots. Even the best gardener can’t ensure the long-term success of these trees because they are already starting off with one arm tied behind their back. Planting depth and circling roots are two of the most common causes of decline and mortality in trees and do not work towards a future of mature trees shading our communities.
When we plant a tree at Rainbow, we want to make sure it is done right, providing the tree with the best chance it has for not just surviving but thriving long into the future. That means focusing on correct planting and quality of tree stock. A good tree has a healthy root system ready to expand and support a growing sapling. That includes planting that tree at the correct depth so we are not slowly suffocating the roots over a long period of time.
A resilient, long-term solution requires looking at tree planting both at the individual property level and across the broader community. The best resiliency for a community’s urban forest is diversity. The more species of trees you plant, the less of a chance an invasive species has to clear out your whole block. By offering a wide variety of species to plant, we are ensuring that neighborhoods can weather the impacts of destruction while still maintaining their canopy long-term.
Even though some of our streets are currently vacant of mature trees, we still believe in a forested future. Our trees are planted by staff who believe in a tomorrow that is covered in mature trees providing habitat for wildlife, shade to our homes, preventing runoff, and more. Protecting and caring for trees has always been at our core, and the best care starts with planting. We plant for a community dominated by the shade of large, mature trees. Trees that we never have to remove in our lifetime due to disease or stress. We believe in a resilient urban ecosystem capable of weathering both time and a changing climate.
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Tree Planting
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Healthy Trees Begin from the Ground Up
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