The treescape along West Beebe-Capps Expressway near the Main Street intersection in Searcy is about to go through a transformation, and if all goes as planned, 13 new sugar maples will replace the current Bradford pear trees next year. The Searcy Tree Board has already started on the project and planted the first new sugar maple last week, and the next day, Mayor David Morris read a proclamation declaring Nov. 7 as Arbor Day in Searcy.
“I … call upon each and every citizen to support the efforts of our tree board within our city to protect our trees and our woodlands,” Morris said while reading the proclamation. “I further urge citizens to plant and care for trees to gladden the hearts and promote well-being for this and future generations.”
Richard Stafford, chairman of the Searcy Tree Board, said this is the fourth year the board has been involved in city Arbor Day celebrations. In the past, the board has planted trees at Spring Park, the White County Pioneer Village and the adult softball fields.
“When we were talking about what we wanted to do this year, we wanted to do something a little more bold, a little bigger, and bring a little more visibility to what we do and what we believe,” he said.
A couple of months ago, the Searcy Tree Board applied for a $1,500 grant through the Arkansas Flower and Garden Show to give the board the ability to do a bigger project. The application is in, but the grant has not yet been awarded. Meanwhile, the board has designed a plan to improve the treescape on the island of land between West Beebe-Capps Expressway and West Mulberry Avenue.
Currently, there are several Bradford pear trees, along with flower beds managed by the county’s Master Gardeners, in the island, but Stafford said the board has a “not-so-great love” of Bradford pear trees and has plans to replace them with sugar maples.
“Bradford pear was developed as kind of this perfect tree,” he said. “As time went on, we started noticing a few problems with them.”
The structure of a Bradford pear tree is one problem, Stafford said, because the trees grow quickly and are weak. The life cycle of a Bradford pear tree is 15 to 25 years.
“The life cycle ends not because of disease or pests,” he said. “They fall apart on themselves.”
Some of the Bradford pear trees on the land between Beebe-Capps and Mulberry have already started to split, making for a potentially unsafe situation.
Bradford pear trees have also been known to be cross-pollinated and produce a fruit that is eaten by birds, who then drop the seeds in wooded areas. Those seeds have started growing as a “mutant” species, Stafford said, and in some places, it is considered an invasive species.
The tree board did not want to just take out the Bradford pears and leave the area with no trees, so the board members looked for native trees that would be healthy, attractive and appropriate for that land.
Instead of two rows of trees like what exists now with the Bradford pears, the board plans to plant one row of sugar maple trees down the center of the island so they can grow without encroaching on the road. Interspersed between the trees, the board has plans to plant American holly in order to provide some evergreen flora into the design.
“That way we can have a year-round interest of some sort,” Stafford said. “The [flower] beds have crape myrtles and other flowering things that will bloom in spring and summer. Then, one of the reasons we picked sugar maple trees is because everyone knows they are one of the showiest trees in the fall. If you can imagine 10 to 15 years from now when these trees have some serious height and they’re lined up through here, it’s going to be a showstopper. It’s going to be beautiful.”
The Arkansas Flower and Garden Show grant will be awarded in December, and Stafford said if the Searcy Tree Board receives the grant, the group will be able to couple the money with some other funding from the Modern Woodmen of America and have the whole project paid for and completed by next spring. If the grant does not come through, he said, the tree board will explore other opportunities, possibly including private donations.
The first sugar maple was donated by tree board member Sue Ekdahl, who said she wanted the tree to be planted in honor of the Searcy Tree Board and the work it does for the city.
Stafford said the board has not currently figured out a donation process for residents interested in donating trees but is working out a plan that may include plaques for those who wish to donate a tree in honor of someone. For more information on donating, contact Searcy City Hall at (501) 268-2483.
Staff writer Angela Spencer can be reached at (501) 244-4307 or aspencer@arkansasonline.com.