City ponders planting new trees that can withstand wet conditions in Jawbone Park after some die from stress, disease

Monica Zalaznik
November 30, 2021

BUCKHANNON – Consolidated Public Work Board members discussed planting new trees in Jawbone Park with the City of Buckhannon’s horticulturist Tuesday.

City horticulturist Dixie Green attended the Nov. 30 CPWB meeting to discuss the closing of the 2021 growing season and plans for flowers and trees in spring of 2022.

“For 2021, I think we wrapped things up pretty well,” Green said. “We had to close up a little early because of the weather. Right now, we’re finalizing orders for next year and we’re going to start working on our new greenhouse, probably next week. We’re going to be spending the next month or two transporting the inventory from the old greenhouse to the new greenhouse.”

Board member and councilperson CJ Rylands said replacing the trees in Jawbone Park should be a priority.

“We saw some of the trees in Jawbone got stressed,” Rylands said. “I believe you went down and took a look at them, and some of them are diseased or damaged and I’d like to try to get replacement trees. When we have events, people are sitting in the shade – wherever that is – and we need to have some more leaves.”

Green said that could be done in spring, after they decide what type of trees to plant.

“The problem is that area gets very wet a couple times a year; that’s probably why they’re stressed or diseased,” Green said. “I can come up with a list of suggested varieties that you might be interested in, and we can go from there.”

Rylands also asked about installing the ground stabilizers sometime in spring, but public works director Jerry Arnold said the Street Department was managing that project.

“There are a few questions about placement, all those trees are rooted in there, but we’re probably looked at placement of the grid in early spring, so we want to go ahead and get the soil ready,” Arnold said.

Rylands also asked Green to look over a plan Create Buckhannon developed to plant shrubs near U.S. Route 33.

“Create Buckhannon submitted a plan to do some landscaping to the right-hand side of the westbound ramp at 33 and 20,” Rylands said. “There is a big area over there between that ramp and Buffalo Wild Wings where we want to plant different shrubs, but I just wanted more information. We’re trying to get a plan and a request to do something.”