Walking along the Otrain pathway, I am distressed to see so many trees debarked by rabbits or mice.
They probably won’t survive.
Last year, we lost a whole bunch on the NCC side of Bayview Station. None of the trees there had chew guards on them, while the city trees south of Bayview Station did.
This year, there were no tree guards left at all.
I wonder if the contractor picks them up for reuse when they removed the posts that held up the burlap wind protection installed for the first two winters. After all, they only have to ensure they live for two years.
Maybe that’s the whole idea.
This looks like field mice damage. If a tree is tasty enough there is little you can do to prevent them from getting at the tree other than completely clearing away the tall grass so that there are no field mice in the area. The tree protectors work somewhat but eventually they have to come off and then the mice will get at that tender bark that had been protected by the plastic. Choose a less tasty tree to replace these trees.
Has the city never done this before? Why does there seem to be so little knowledge about planting and caring for trees? If they’re planning for a million trees by 2017, I hope they’re better prepared.