A laurel oak along East Jefferson Street in Orlando shades the road and parts of three yards. The huge tree is much appreciated and, with a new hurricane season starting up, a little scary.
“I think everybody would like to keep it as long as it’s not a danger,” said neighbor Mike Baker a few days before a city crew pruned the oak.
Most folks who lost laurel oaks are choosing to replant with other trees. And Orlando forester Andy Kittsley said his office has had far more calls than normal from residents anxious about overhanging limbs.
Laurel oaks aren’t going to be chopped down en masse. They are succumbing to rot and urban abuse but account for most downtown greenery.
Instead, government crews and private companies have been in demand to assess the potential danger of trees still standing.
“This is the busiest I can remember,” said Bonnie Seay of A Tree Pro Services Inc. “And homeowners aren’t nearly as interested in planting a fast-growing laurel oak.
“Nobody is asking for them anymore,” said Bob Hopper, owner of Green Jungle Nursery on South Goldenrod Road. “My four best sellers are queen palm, pygmy date palm, magnolia and live oak. A lot of people want smaller trees.”
Kittsley said that because a tree survived three major storms doesn’t ensure it will outlast the next. Internal cracking last year might lead to a tree’s failure this year, a kind of diagnosis not easily made.
Trees in decline can be given a half-dozen years of additional life with a pruning that reduces weight and wind exposure.
When a laurel oak is cut down on public property, the city isn’t likely to replace it, selecting instead a live oak, magnolia or other type.
In Orlando alone, an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 trees on public property were toppled or destroyed last year. Nearly as many trees were lost on private property.
