Tree complaint falls on stony ground

SORRY STATE: Neglected trees in parched ground are fighting for survival off Johnstone St.

Further trees on Masterton District Council-owned land are under stress and dying.

After the Times-Age published photographs and a news item on the withering away of trees in the town square, blamed on lack of care and proper watering, complaints about other trees have been coming in from ratepayers.

These have included claims Essex St trees are suffering as a result of poor care and the arrival of hot weather.

This week, the Times-Age was alerted to a problem with plane trees planted on land off Johnstone St earmarked for the eventual extension of Riverside Cemetery.

The plane trees, which number around two dozen, are largely unprotected from animals that have been grazing the paddocks and are on stony, unirrigated land. As a result, some have died and the others are heavily stressed.

A woman who spoke about the trees' dilemma said she had telephoned the council only to be told, "Yes, it's unfortunate."

She said neither the farmer who grazes the council land nor the council staff "seem interested in the matter".

"After I telephoned the council, I noticed a few wooden pallets were put around a few of the trees, probably all too late.

"Obviously no water has been fed to the trees, which would have been expensive to plant and would, in time, have made a lovely avenue. It's an appalling waste of money."

When asked to comment yesterday, former district councillor Judith Callaghan, who was instrumental in getting council to plant the avenue of trees, said it never occurred to her they would "just put them in and forget about them".

Mrs Callaghan said the trees did not form part of the council's urban tree-care programme, but she would have expected the farmer who grazes the land to put up workable electric fencing to protect them. "They also need staking, a good watering system and to be topped."

Council spokesman Sam Rossiter-Stead said the trees were on a grazed area and, despite previous efforts to keep the cattle at bay using electric fences, unfortunately, there has been a good deal of damage.

"We are currently using pallets to build cost-effective protective structures which will prevent this from happening again in the future. We're confident these established trees will fully recover by next spring."