A cloudburst on Tuesday evening promised relief from the heat wave. But it spelled doom for a young maple tree, which snapped and toppled at one of Morristown’s loveliest locations.
“Something damaged the base of the tree, creating a cavity where rot set in,” said Kristin Ace, chair of the town Shade Tree Commission.
The brief storm delivered the coup de grace, depositing the sapling onto the South Street sidewalk in front of the World War I cenotaph at the historic Vail Mansion.
This downtown stretch is becoming a Bermuda Triangle for trees. Across the street at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, almost exactly four years ago, a microburst sent a mighty oak crashing onto an S.U.V.
Fortunately, no injuries were reported in either case. Falling branches have claimed four lives in Greater Morristown since 2018, however.
Ace estimated the downed maple was about eight years old. Its base was surrounded by Flexi-Pave, a porous recycled rubber and stone material designed to protect trees in heavily traveled areas.
Something may have damaged that material, Ace speculated, creating the cavity that weakened the tree over time.
Morristown residents love their canopy, and Ace expressed a desire to re-plant something in that spot. Saplings cost about $500, she said.
But don’t expect anything before autumn of 2023.
“When you grind down and remove a stump,” she explained, “it takes a year for the nitrates from the stump to dissipate. They are deadly to a new tree.”
Kristin, a resident of the Franklin Corners neighborhood has contributed so much to her family, her neighborhood and the Town,
Kristin and the Shade Tree Commission team have been doing outstanding work over the years not only successfully obtaining many thousands of $$$ in grant money for tree plantings but also in working tirelessly to increase and improve the tree canopy & urban forest in Morristown.