The City of Minneapolis tries again

[dreamshark]

For the 37 years we have lived in this house the Minneapolis Parks Department (which manages the city's trees) has been trying to get something to grow on our northern boulevard with little success. It's a difficult site - narrow, full of road salt, and with only about 18" of soil over a deep substrate of crushed rock. But the Parks Department is apparently oblivious to these challenges and keeps planting trees that cannot possible live in such an environment, like Norway maples. Two of the three they planted decades ago died and the third one is that pathetic specimen you can see at the corner down there, which somehow clings to life but never really gets any bigger. They actually found an appropriate tree when the other two maples died - some kind of dwarf flowering fruit tree - which are actually capable of growing in such a constrained spot. That was great until 2 years ago when the city DROPPED AN ASH TREE on one of them and wiped it out on the spot. Then they replaced it with something totally inappropriate called Yellowwood, which died the first summer  despite Richard watering it assiduously. 

Well, now they are trying again with some tree I have never heard of called Amur Maackia. I guess they are giving up on native trees entirely. Maybe this one will do better. sigh