Questions about roundabout
plantings
EDITOR: I saw the letters to the editor regarding the finishing touches on the landscaping of the roundabout. I take exception to two of the trees chosen for the entry to the city as follows:
Leyland Cypress (Cupresso X Cyparis lelandii) is a very poor tree for the Healdsburg area as it is subject to a coryneum canker that will cause the tree to be very short lived and need replacement in a very few years. This is a bad choice for any planting in Sonoma County and will not accomplish what the designer intended to implement as “the finishing touch.”
Armstrong Maple is marginally better than the Leyland Cypress, but is not that well suited to the Healdsburg climate. This tree is a variety of Red Maple, an east coast tree that is native to low wet areas of eastern North America per the description in the Sunset Western Garden book. I have seen these used in Sebastopol as a street tree and they have very aggressive roots and narrow crotch angles which causes the branches to break in the wind.
As a 16-year resident in Healdsburg and a registered Landscape Architect in California with over 45 years of experience in the San Francisco Bay Area region, I feel that we could have made a more appropriate tree selection for the town’s entry. I would like to see the city select tree species that are more suited to the climate in Healdsburg and still create a worthwhile entry statement for years to come.
Ron Hodges
Healdsburg
More thanks to Ray
EDITOR: There are many folks here in Healdsburg that I admire for their incredible dedication to our community, but none more so than departing Healdsburg Tribune Editor Ray Holley.
For at least the last 20 years Ray has put his heart and soul into our town, both personally and professionally, and we are all better off for it.
Ray is the very first person so many of us have turned to with every new idea for Healdsburg, and it would be impossible to track all of the crucial projects that he has championed or led over these years.
It’s hard to imagine a Tribune without Ray, but I know he’ll always be here for Healdsburg.
Thank you Ray.
Jason Liles
Healdsburg
Women In Business gratitude
EDITOR: I want to convey my appreciation for the honor given to me and Russian River Watershed Protection Committee (RRWPC) by you and your staff in your recent Women In Business issue. The whole insert was beautifully done and I was very impressed by the other women also selected to receive this honor.
The publicity is very helpful to myself and RRWPC in letting people know that we have not gone away and we continue to work quietly behind the scenes to protect the lower Russian River and its values treasured by all. Thank you.
PS: If people want to view our recent and past work, our website address is www.rrwpc.org
Brenda Adelman
Camp Meeker
