To the Editor:
The following is a letter in response to why trees won’t thrive in the downtown area of Houlton (reported in the July 31 edition). The article said it was a mystery that nobody so far can solve.
I can tell you why they keep dying. The thought came to my mind when the first ones were planted. Why would anyone do such a thing after paying so much for the trees and spending all that time and money planting them? They won’t thrive because you can’t plant trees surrounded by concrete. Sure, there’s some soil there, but as soon as they start to grow and their roots start to branch out, the need more rich soil, not to be encased in concrete.
Another reason they can’t thrive is because they are in front or beside tall buildings, and they don’t get enough sun. Trees also need sunlight to grow and thrive.
I would feel very badly every time I’d go to the downtown area after the first group of trees were planted. When they started growing, they would grow outward toward the square, trying to get some somelight that they lacked because of the tall buildings beside them. I’m not a tree pathologist, but over the course of my life of 73 years, I’ve paid attention to nature and marvelled at how it works.
Some years ago, I wanted a maple tree planted in our yard. My husband was fishing out in the woods one afternoon and he came across this little sapling of a maple tree. It was in a damp place, and he pulled it up and brought it home and planted it. I told him that it would never grow, as I had tried that before. Well, I was wrong. It did grow and now is 40 or 50 feet high and very beautiful.
I just wanted to voice my opinion.
Jeannette Bouchard
Houlton
