LONE TREE —Lone Tree is a long way from when its name denoted a community around a rolling golf course.
Now, the city of Lone Tree has a $30,000 annual budget to maintain and plant trees just at public facilities such as the civic center.
“We’re really tree-conscious,” said the city’s forester, Julius Zsako, who was hired in August. “We think they do more than provide shade, beauty and comfort. They enhance property values and really add to the character of our community.”
Its name aside, Lone Tree is all about trees. Last year the Arbor Day Foundation honored the community as a “Tree City” for the fifth year in a row. And this year, efforts are well underway to improve the city’s green, leafy landscape.
In addition to offering , Zsako is also leading a seminar April 18 outlining tips for proper tree selection, placement, planting techniques and care.
It could be a pivotal season for many trees around Lone Tree and across the Front Range. Thanks to a warm fall and a many trees suffered freeze damage that could impact their long-term viability, according to the Colorado State University Extension.
Zsako examined two young Austrian pines at the Lone Tree Civic Center last week that are at least 50 percent dead and will need to be replaced. He was concerned with the health of at least two other trees there, feeling the ends of the branches to see if they have a chance for regrowth or if their desiccated tips meant they were unlikely to recover.
Zsako knows it was a tough year, but he noted the Front Range is an arid, high plains desert climate that is not tree-friendly in general. He said the average life span of a Colorado tree is 12 years, highlighting the need for education.
“We want to talk to residents about this being a harsh environment,” Zsako said. “If you want to plant a tree and you want to give it a chance of living, you have to pick the right tree in the right place and plant it properly and take care of it.”
Jane Rozum, a horticulture agent with the CSU Extension office of Douglas County, will join Zsako at the seminar, as will three master gardeners. Rozum said she and the other instructors are planning to demonstrate how to properly plant a few trees during the seminar, taking place at the Lone Tree Civic Center.
“A lot of trees are not planted correctly and just getting those steps out there to public is important so people are not taking the tree out five years from now,” Rozum said. “Our mission with extension is education, and we’d love to be part of any municipal event that adds that aspect to their Arbor Day celebrations.”
The tree care seminar enrollment is capped at 60, and, as of last week, more than 40 people, including some local business owners, had already signed up.
Mayor Pro Tem Jackie Millet knows a thing or two about trees. Since moving to town more than a dozen years ago, she believes she has planted 10 trees on her property, including six obtained through the city’s discount tree program. She said she supports the seminar program and hopes residents will take advantage of it as well as the tree discounts.
” I think we have a very attractive community and the landscaping and trees and nature really serve to enhance it,” she said. “(Trees) are good for mind, body and soul as far as I’m concerned.”
Joe Rubino: 303-954-2953 or jrubino@denverpost.com
If you go
What: Tree care seminar
When: 10-11:30 a.m. April 18
Where: Lone Tree Civic Center, 8527 Lone Tree Parkway
Cost: Free; RSVP to Julius Zsako by April 10 to ensure a spot: 720-509-1269.
