Tree treatment to close part of Heritage Park on April 8

A local tree care company hired by the Department of Enterprise Services will treat 34 London planetrees in Heritage Park with a fungicide on Friday, April 8 to help control a fungal disease that puts stress on the trees by causing their leaves to drop prematurely.

The treatment will require the partial closure of Heritage Park, including the crushed gravel walking path that curves along the lake's eastern shoreline, for several hours that day. The north Heritage Park parking lot at 5th Avenue and Simmons Street in Olympia will also be closed during the treatment. The park areas off limits to public use will be indicated by barriers, yellow caution tape and signage.

While the treatment is scheduled to start at around 5 a.m. and be finished by 7 a.m., the park will not fully reopen until the fungicide has dried completely. Drying time is weather dependent but the goal is to have the entire park open by noon.

The fungicide will be applied to the entire tree using a truck-mounted sprayer.

The treatment is weather dependent and cannot be done if conditions are wet or winds exceed about 5 mph.

Enterprise Services staff and the applicator – Wolbert's Inc. – will evaluate conditions, such as wind speed, wind direction and temperature, before starting the treatment. If conditions change, the application will be halted.

All areas sprayed will be flagged with treatment signs, in accordance with state law.

A second fungicide treatment of the London planetrees is tentatively scheduled to be done about three weeks after the April 8 application.

The London planetrees are being affected by Sycamore anthracnose, a fungal disease that can cause premature leaf drop, cankers and the sudden death of most of a tree's new shoot growth. While the disease will probably not kill the trees, severe successive infections will weaken the trees and they could die if not properly cared for, according to Washington State University Extension. The state planted the trees in Heritage Park in 2005.

Enterprise Services grounds staff are taking other steps to keep the trees in good health, such as raking up and disposing (but not composting) of fallen leaves and twigs, adding mulch and compost around their base and inspecting the drainage system around each tree.

Heritage Park is a 24-acre state-owned property adjacent to Capitol Lake and downtown Olympia. The park is the northern extension of the Capitol Campus and is managed by Enterprise Services.

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