We have a new street tree in front. NYC's standard tree pit size is now
4-1/2 x 9 feet. It is right along the curb. With nine feet along the curb there will be people getting out of cars and into the pit.So what ground cover can take this the best? It would seem to me that myrtle/perrywinkle would be better than English ivy, which would be better than pachysandra.
Other plants (e.g. spring bulbs) could be added further from the curb.
Don
In NYC unless you first enclose that space with a heavy gauge wrought iron fence you're wasting your time.
I think the preferred term is "tree well", not "tree pit".
Any ground cover will freeze in the winter. Walking on it then will leave dead patches the size and shape of shoe prints.
Consider a tree grate. This would be two open-work steel or iron panels that lie flat on the ground over the tree well. Where they meet, they form a hole for the trunk of the tree.
Tree grates are not fastened into place. They can be lifted to work on underground utilities running in the area. They might need replacement as the tree outgrows the hole for the trunk.
With a tree grate, you have two choices:
this site is very useful for me...
Iron hoops were installed on three sides by the neighbor I share the pit with. There are none on the street side, allowing doors to open.
Don
Never heard tree well used around here. It is not lower then the sidewalk. Often they are slightly higher.
Well, if there is a lot of snow there will be snow banks along the side and people will have to get out the other side of the car. We could intentionally pile a lot of snow into the pit to discourage stepping into it. As long as the honey locust and any plants underneath don't mind wet feet.
And with global warming we will have less time when it is below freezing at the times people would be using their cars.
Thanks for the suggestion, but no. Remember I have nine feet along the curb. The new large size is to capture more rain water and have less run into the sewers.
Don
If car doors open onto that area so people can disembark and step there then just how long do you think anything you plant there will last? Perhaps you need to consider planting pavers.
If it's not lower than the sidewalk then why do you keep refering to that area as a "pit"? I think you need to post a photograph depicting the entire area so everyone can see what you're talking about. I lived in NYC for many years and I know that every curbside planting area presents a different situation. You haven't really given a description, you've not mentioned whether it's a business or residential situation, or who is responsible for its care... you haven't even said if it's in full sun, part shade, or full shade, and what kind of soil, which are very important considerations for suggesting a ground cover planting.
If people are going to walk on it often then there is none that will look good all year round and many that will never look very good. Pave it.
David
Don't pave it. Eventually, the tree will outgrow its hole in the paving. Furthermore, rain and snow will run off and not irrigate the tree; and tree roots might suffer from a lack of oxygen in the soil.
Consider pea gravel, coarser gravel, or rounded river stones. These just lie on the soil and allow water and air to penetrate. Another alternative is unmortared bricks in a basket-weave or herringbone pattern. All of these prevent mud from being tracked out of the area or from ensnaring someone's shoes.
Better.
D
WTF are you... Mr. Good Houskeeping... how presumptuous that you think anyone needs your seal of approval. What a pompous pontificating know nothing.
People will not be often walking on it. If they were, I would not have been asking about a ground cover. People are taking this way beyond my question.
I can't pave it. As I wrote there is a standard tree pit size and I can't reduce it.
Don.
Because that it what they are called around here. See the official instructions on caring for it:
Okay. Here it is:
Residential with low parking turnover. And on the car's passenger side.
That's between me and the neighbor that I share the pit with. We both have hoses out front and we both garden. But I am usually home and they are usually not.
It gets morning sun. Sometimes filtered through a honey locust tree.
Don.
Not knowing the lcimate of NYC, I wonder if various thymes (golden normal old domestic, lemon etc) might work? Makes a nice scent when stepped on, is fairly tough IME and won't catch feet ankles like periwinkle or ivy would.
What might make sense is some stepping stones. Most of the people parking here live around here, and they aren't going to deliberately want to trash a pretty tree pit.
Don.
If you have those hoops on three sides I honestly don't see the point in not having the hoops at the curb as well... anyone opening a car door will exit and then have to step over to exit the area anyway, and anything planted there will get trampled regardless... and anyone stepping over those hoops will have a good chance of tripping, falling, and getting seriously hurt... there will be a law suit... it's NYC ya know.
I know that you have something else in mind but I'd fill in that entire area with paving block (making sure it's flat and even with the concrete so no one trips) leaving a good sized opening for that sapling to grow and filling it with mulch if desired... blocks can be removed to enlarge the opening at a later date as the tree grows. I would also set in a wrought iron tree guard or that puny tree won't stand a chance... have an iron shop make one about six feet tall with spikes on top so that it's not climbable (it's NYC). I'd find a couple of heavy concrete planters to set out on the blocks and fill them with annuals each spring and remove them to storage prior to each winter. I would definitely get rid of those hoops (NOW) or someone is going to own you... I'm surprised the City of NY hasn't directed you to remove those hoops and cited you for creating a dangerous nuisance. Even pedestrians just strolling on the sidewalk are apt not to see those fercocktah hoops, especially at night.
That could work okay in your backyard, but on the streets of NYC those stones are an attractive nuisance, they're great for smashing windows.
How naive... you're obviously new to NYC. Just wait until a group of boozers/druggies come staggering by at 3AM.
Those official instructions recommend ground covers, including: - Spotted Deadnettle Lamium maculatum (Excellent groundcover) - Foam Flower Tiarella cordifolia(Vigorous groundcover with white upright flowers)
Presumably these have been tested and found satisfactory in NYC tree pits, why not go with one of them?
Oh, geeze... go know... there are official instructions. By all means go with the oafficial instructions, why ask us dummies.
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