City: Street Trees Suffering Drought

Last week's sprinkles may have felt like the beginning of "real" fall weather for most, but they did nothing to alleviate stress on Minneapolis' street trees, according to a city official.

In a press release issued on Friday, city spokesperson Matt Laible asked residents to water new trees on their streets to help keep them healthy.

"Even if we get rain this week, the Twin Cities area is in its eighth year of drought, which has put our trees at serious risk of long-term damage," Laible wrote. "Cyclical droughts are common and help remove unhealthy trees so that new trees can prosper, but this extended drought is a problem even for otherwise healthy trees."

Laible asked residents to direct a slow stream of water to these trees for a few hours every week if it rains any less than one inch per week, and preferably in the evening.

For more information on street trees, contact the Park Board's Forestry Division at (612) 313-7710, email forestry@minneapolisparks.org, or visit the Urban Forrest section of www.minneapolisparks.org.