Published: June 12, 2007 03:55 pm    PrintThis  

Working to save Veasey Park's signature tree

The copper beech at Groveland's Veasey Park is a magnificent tree. Set just below the top of Nun's Hill, it welcomes visitors to the banquet rooms and meeting facilities on the slopes behind its arching canopy. Its deep red, somewhat purplish leaves stand out dramatically in a landscape where the greens of grass, fir trees and hardwoods dominate.

But appearances can be deceiving. In contrast to an oak, which "can look rotten on the outside while the wood inside is strong," according to Steve Strom of Valley Tree Service in Groveland, a copper beech may conceal inner weakness for some time. It was only when the shelf-like growths of fungus known as conks started appearing on the copper beech that the property's caretaker, Martin Camp, knew something was wrong with what he calls their "showpiece" tree.

In addition to caring for everything on the property from clogged plumbing to loose shingles, Camp, who runs a cabinetmaking business in Newburyport and stays at Veasey Park in exchange for his labor, is well-versed in the Park's history. In one building, a gallery of photographs mounted in poster racks show the property's original owner, mill magnate Arthur Veasey, tending to freshly planted saplings.

Given the uniqueness of the copper beech on the property, it was almost certainly planted. Given its age, and the pictorial evidence of Veasey's personal involvement in the planting of trees, there is a good chance the copper beech was planted by Veasey himself. However close the connection to Veasey personally, the tree was clearly part of his vision for how the property should appear.

The first arborists Camp consulted thought the beech might have a disease, but a root sample he sent to the UMass extension program in Amherst "came back negative, disproving that theory," Camp says.

Camp then turned to Strom for a second opinion, which turned out to be that the tree is decaying, and that airborne spores of fungi have taken root in rotting cellulose, eventually growing into conks.

Strom explains that the "tight bark" of a copper beech "retains moisture." Again in contrast to the oak, which has bark that "breathes," allowing moisture to escape, all the water a beech holds in "cooks" the wood. This exacerbates decay that was initiated by environmental stressors, which interfere with the tree's access to nutrients.

Strom couldn't say for sure what stressors started the decay, but he asked Camp to remove the grass in a wide circle around the beech's trunk. Grass has been shown to produce a chemical that acts as an herbicide, stunting the growth of trees in nurseries. That area will now be mulched, providing protection for the roots and discouraging lawnmowers. Soil compaction from heavy machinery, and the gashes mowers can leave in the bark, are potential stressors to avoid.

In contrast to the latest trends in landscaping, Strom points out that mulch should never be thicker than two inches anywhere around a tree, or the roots will suffocate. Additionally, mulch should taper away to nothing before it reaches the trunk or excess moisture will be drawn into the bark.

Removing stressors will help "keep its vigor up" while the tree tries to heal itself. In the beech this is a process of "compartmentalization," according to Strom, a chemical reaction that isolates decay from the rest of the tree. Strom visited Veasey Park on Saturday, June 2, to provide the beech with another, more physical means of support in the form of cables bolted into neighboring limbs.

"That large stem off the back side," according to Strom, "has an exaggerated lean, leveraging weight into its attachment." In other words, it is pulling on the spot where decay has produced conks, and without added physical support, will collapse, sooner rather than later. This would leave a noticeable gap in the tree's canopy.

Strom stressed that "cables aren't foolproof," but rather are "a preventive measure" that he hopes will allow the tree to heal. Valley Tree Service, which donated work on Veasey's tree on June 2, has operated in Groveland since the 1960s. The company has always done community service projects, Strom said, but this is their first in Groveland. In addition to donating services and equipment, Valley Tree Service is providing the mulch that Camp will spread at the base of the tree.