Jack Boyd palms to come down

 

BY JULIA WADE

A Mangawhai Heads street is to lose a number of its palm trees after recent wild weather brought one tall plant crashing down onto the road. 
Approximately ten palms which currently grace the centre road garden of Jack Boyd Drive will be removed after being diagnosed with poor health by local arborists, Orang Otang Tree Trimmers.

Parks officer Mike Collins says Kaipara District Council (KDC) asked Orang Otang to assess the safety and wellbeing of the palms and the findings proved what council and Jack Boyd Drive occupants had suspected – that the trees were in poor condition.

In a letter to KDC, Orang Otang’s Chris Howarth says he recommended the trees for removal after discovering several symptoms including poor soil conditions, bad planting and stilting of the root zone, causing a ‘strong possibility’ for the trees to fall and become a safety hazard. 

Other possible environmental conditions such as the spraying of chemicals also lead to the trees bad health he said: ‘We highly recommend the removal of the palms entirely and to replant… which would be the most cost effective option. A second option would be to dig a larger hole and transplant existing palms within the same location. However both the palm specialist and myself don’t feel this is the best option. There may well be existing issues in the soil inhibiting the roots to get established, hence the stilting symptom.’ 

Collins says it is clear the trees will continue to decline in health and eventually fall over.

“This is obviously a concern as it is a huge risk to people and vehicles,” he says. “Council will therefore be removing these palms and will look at what, if anything, is an appropriate replacement.”

Poor planting and soil conditions will see the decline of more palms.