Brentwood Community Council hosting forum September 1
By Sam Catanzaro
The Brentwood Community Council (BCC) will host its annual coral tree forum soon to discuss the state of the iconic trees lining San Vicente Boulevard.
The forum will be held virtually via Zoom on September 1, 2020 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. For the Zoom link, visit 90049.info.
Lisa Smith (a Registered Consulting Arborist) and Stephen Billings (a landscape architect) will panel the discussion which will cover the state of Brentwood’s coral trees, grass versus ground cover and a new sprinkler system.
Lining San Vicente Boulevard, coral trees are fast-growing and suffer from weak wood, making them susceptible to collapse unless pruned regularly but cver-pruning, however, causes the trees to “sunburn.” Furthermore, San Vicente’s coral trees have not been spared by the impacts of California’s recent, record-breaking drought. Although coral trees thrive on little water, the drought forced the city to turn off irrigation to the median, posing a problem to future tree upkeep.
Compounded with the effects of neglect and unfavorable weather, Brentwood’s coral trees suffer from a fungal infection spread by gophers. Oak Root Fungus is a common plant disease in California that thrives in moist conditions — the fungus has spread through the San Vicente Corridor through gopher damage.
