The Willow Glen Resident

Council Watch

Everything's coming up tulips for committee

Councilman wins grant to save the parasite-infected trees in the Glen

By Cecily Barnes

The Tulip Tree Committee, which has worked to save parasite-infested trees in Willow Glen since 1996, recently landed a one-time $20,000 grant from the city of San Jose, thanks to District 9 Councilman John Diquisto's lobbying efforts during the city's midyear budget review. The tree treatments started last month and should be completed shortly.

"Every year during the budget process, there's a little bit of surplus money, and councilmembers are able to identify a need within their district and request it. That's what happened here," said Diquisto's aide, Dawn Wright. "Approximately 400 to 600 trees have been treated; they've been injected with Merit."

Trees digest Merit, a chemical injected into the root system of trees, rendering their leaves and bark poisonous to aphids and other bugs.

The Tulip Tree Committee was formed in 1996 after residents along Meridian, Foxworthy and Cottle avenues and Dry Creek Road noticed the tulip trees along their sidewalks were infested with aphids and scales, parasites that destroy trees by sucking out the nutrients from the tree, causing a sticky sap called honeydew. Honeydew feeds the insects and their young, as well as ants, which defend the bugs from predators, said city arborist Mark Beaudoin.

"If you parked your car under the tree, it would get covered with sticky goo that was hard to get off," said Willow Glen resident Ed Snively. "It would get everywhere, on the sidewalk and the street."

Neighbors formed a committee and held a series of meetings at the Kirk Community Center. In 1997, they collected $75 from willing residents and arranged treatment for infected trees. They also landed a $2,000 grant from the city organization San Jose Beautiful to spray trees belonging to neighbors unwilling or unable to pay the cost.

However, after almost a year, the ooze has returned. Since the tulip trees are not native to the area, their health will require continuous maintenance.

"The climate here in San Jose does not help the tulip trees stay well," Wright said. "If we had a cold enough winter to frost , then we wouldn't have a bug problem. But because we don't, the bugs thrive."

Although the trees were planted by the city and grow on sidewalks owned by the city, property owners are responsible for the trees' health and maintenance.

"The owner of the property is responsible for the care of the tree that's on the sidewalk adjacent to their property," Wright said. "This is an issue we probably have to address on a citywide basis. For three years now we have asked for funding for a spray program, but we haven't gotten it. Obviously, it's not a priority for the other councilpeople."

For now, the Tulip Tree Committee is taking the health of its trees one year at a time. The $20,000 grant provided a reprieve from gathering funds, and next year another temporary solution will have to be worked out.

"We're becoming the recipients of that money this year, but in the future we don't know," Snively said. "I haven't heard anything about a committee meeting yet, but there might be something later on in the summer."

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