Noticed a lot of new street trees in Seattle are the same cultivar

I was working a job in the Ballard neighborhood last week and counted over twenty new street trees planted in the last year. Every single one was a 'Autumn Blaze' maple. The city's planting list shows they're pushing hard for this one tree. It makes sense for fall color and growth speed, but putting all your eggs in one basket seems risky. I'm worried about what a new pest or disease could do to a whole block. Has anyone else seen their city lean this hard on a single species lately?

2 comments

2 Comments

rowanellis2mo ago

Wait, did you say every single one was the same tree? That's a huge problem. It's like they didn't learn from Dutch elm disease wiping out whole streets. A pest that likes that maple could take out the whole neighborhood's new trees in one go. Why would a city department think that's a good plan?

blake_thompson272mo ago

Man, that's like my entire diet being chicken nuggets because they're easy and reliable. Sure, it works for a while, but one bad batch and the whole system goes down lol. You're right to be worried, it's basic risk stuff they're ignoring for a quick fix. Hope they figure it out before some bug figures out the all-you-can-eat maple buffet.