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April 23, 2008
There are two things that characterize the Lake Barcroft community. The first, of course, is the Lake. The second and no less spectacular but often taken for granted is our urban forest. Unfortunately, much of the community’s forest is reaching the end of its natural life span and many of the trees on both private and community property will die over the next 5 to 15 years. Additionally, our forest has experienced a much higher attrition rate over the past several years because of extended drought and other stressors. While many trees have died, been felled by wind, or have been taken down intentionally, very few have been systematically replaced. In many cases, when they were replaced, the replacements have been ornamental or other non-native species, which while attractive, change the overall character of Lake Barcroft and do not necessarily support native wildlife. A year ago the LBA initiated a policy of replacing trees on common grounds.
Now, we have begun a new policy that provides incentives for homeowners to replace or reforest their land. The new policy is as follows:
Tree Replacement Rules
This offer applies to both replacement or new plantings. No proof of a former tree is required.
In an effort to maintain our forest LBA will share the cost of planting over story trees on private property. LBA will reimburse homeowners 50% of the cost of replacement or new native trees up to a total of $100 per tree. The requirements:
- The tree must be one of the trees listed in the table on the last page and it must be at least 4 - 5 feet tall.
- An invoice must be submitted showing the cost of planting the new tree. LBA will send you a check for 50% of the invoice amount up to a maximum of $100.
- This offer will last until the $5000 that LBA has budgeted for this program is expended. To ensure that as many residents as possible are able to participate residents may apply for up to two trees up to a maximum of $200. Additional trees may be considered if there is funding left at the year.
Requests for reimbursement along with receipts should be sent to the Lake Manager, Chris Lawson either by mail at P.O. Box 1085, Falls Church, VA 22041 or via fax at (703) 941-1535. For questions about the program itself, please contact Bill Herz via e-mail at billherz@gmail.com. The following table lists a number of native trees that qualify for this program and describes there characteristics.
Large Native Trees Recommended for Lake Barcroft
| Species |
Characteristics |
Ornamental Traits |
Wildlife |
Liriodendron tulipifera
Tulip poplar |
Fast growing, tall straight trunks, stately |
Fragrant flowers in May
Yellow Fall color |
Butterfly host tree, songbirds |
Quercus alba
White Oak |
Slow to moderate growth
Majestic, spreading, very long
lived |
Orange to Burgundy fall color |
Supports more wildlife (songbirds, butterflies, mammals) than all other trees
Tolerates wet or dry soil |
Quercus rubra
Red Oak |
Fast growing, tall trunk, wide spreading crown |
Red fall color, acorns |
Supports lots of wildlife, good urban or street tree |
Quercus coccineus
Scarlet Oak |
Moderate growing, tall trunk, rounded crown |
Scarlet fall color, acorns |
Wildlife, good urban or street tree, tolerates dry hillsides |
*Quercus prinus
Chestnut Oak |
Moderate growing, tall, spreading crown |
Chestnut fall color, acorns |
Wildlife, taproot best to plant small size, tolerates dry hillsides, specialty nurseries |
*Quercus stellata
Post Oak |
Slow to moderate growing
Mid sized tree |
Waxy dark green leaves, small acorns |
Wildlife, extremely drought tolerant, taproot, plant small sizes, specialty nurseries |
*Carya glabra
Pignut Hickory |
Slow to moderate growing, strong wood, tall trunk with narrow
crown |
Glowing yellow fall color
Large hickory nuts, bitter
Very long lived and strong |
Wildlife, taproot requires planting at small size,
Specialty nurseries |
*Carya ovata
Shagbark Hickory |
Slow to moderate growing, strong wood, tall trunk with narrow
crown |
Glowing yellow fall color
Large hickory nuts, sweet, edible
Showy, shaggy bark
Very long lived and strong |
Wildlife, taproot requires planting at small size,
Specialty nurseries |
Nyssa sylvatica
Black Gum |
Moderate Growing,
Artistic habit, pendulous lower branches |
Fiery orange to red fall color, small blue fruit attracts many songbirds
in fall |
Wildlife, taproot, plant small or from large container, street tree, wet or drought tolerant |
Betula nigra
River Birch |
Fast growing, often multiple trunks, light airy canopy allows grass beneath |
Very showy creamy to salmon peeling bark, yellow fall color |
Wildlife, easy to transplant, loves wet to regular soils, can plant very close together in small groves |
* May need to seek out at specialty native plant nurseries
A few Local Native Plant Sources
- Park Fairfax Native Plant Sale, April 26 & 27, 2008, 9am – 2pm, 3601 Valley Drive, Alexandria, great sale with many vendors
- Green Spring Garden Day, May 17, 2008, 9am – 3pm, Witchhazel Drive, Alexandria
- Nature by Design, 300 Calvert Ave, Alexandria
- Lower Marlboro Nursery, Dunkirk, MD
Addendum: Other Nursery Resources
Prices are considerably cheaper at some of the larger wholesale nurseries. For instance, American Native Plants which is located near Baltimore, lists a number of species with a trunk diameter of 1-1/4 – 2” in the $40 –95 price range. They have many smaller native trees and shrubs as well. These nurseries come down for local plant sales at Green Springs, the National Arboretum (Mar. 29), and Park Fairfax so people might want to go and peruse all of the offerings and prices in one location.
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