Tree planting for 9/11 memorial plaza postponed

The planting of about 480 trees in the plaza of the Sept. 11 victims' memorial in lower Manhattan is being postponed, and some arborists say that places the trees' vitality at risk.

However, caretakers of the swamp white oaks and sweet gums, which have been stored for months at a New Jersey nursery, say the trees are doing fine despite delays and will remain healthy until replanted.

The trees, ranging in height from 20 feet to 30 feet, had been scheduled for a 2010 planting. But the memorial plaza won't be completed that year, so the earliest the trees can be planted there is 2011, said a spokeswoman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the agency building the memorial.

Starting in 2011, nearly 80 percent of the trees will be planted in time for the 10th anniversary of the attacks, Port Authority Executive Director Chris Ward said.

Museum officials dispute that timetable and said a 2010 planting remains their goals.

Some horticulturists say planting delays create potential health problems for trees stored above ground.

Since 2007, the memorial trees have lived in above-ground wooden boxes.

Ideally, trees should be planted a few years after they're harvested and stored in such boxes, arborists say. Other tree specialists, including Jeanne Mona of Country Gardens Nursery in Eastport, say replanting should occur sooner to reduce risks of root damage or dieback.

"Once you put stress on the root system, you put it on the rest of the tree - the end product is the tree is going to die," Mona said.

Paul Cowie, lead arborist for the memorial trees, said caretakers expected and planned for delays. He said precautions include routine pruning of roots and storage of the trees in larger-than-necessary boxes to allow for abundant soil and root growth.

"Every tree is in better condition than the first couple of months of being in the box," Cowie said.

Cowie, however, acknowledged the delay is disappointing. "We've been wanting to see those trees over there for a few years now," he said, referring to the original 2009 planting date. "It's like waiting for the weekend that never comes."

The trees are stored at a Millstone Township, N.J., nursery.

Memorial officials said $7 million was secured for purchasing, caretaking and replanting. As long as the arboreal lot receives quality care, the trees ought to survive until whenever they are relocated, said Todd Forrest, vice president for horticulture and living collections at New York Botanical Garden.

"Think of a bonsai tree," Forrest said. "Some have been living out of the ground in pots for hundreds of years. If you give trees what they need to survive, you can keep them out of ground indefinitely."