Well, it's done. What was probably the largest flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) in New York City has been cut down. Maybe the largest silverbell (Halesia carolina) too. Certainly, what was the largest group of mature dogwoods and silverbells in the city is now composting in a wood chip pile somewhere out on Long Island.
What's odd is that no one really knew these trees existed, or that they were remarkable in any way — I certainly didn't before I was called in as a Certified Arborist to tag them for removal. And no one of importance really cared enough to save them. Why? Maybe because they were in a working-class neighborhood where residents lacked the time to appreciate them, or the self-empowerment to protest their removal. Or maybe because they were in a cemetery full of long-dead people whom the living have mostly forgotten and whose graves they now rarely visit.
An old cemetery is a great place to see magnificent trees. It's a good place for trees to get old and stay healthy — especially forgotten cemeteries like Cypress Hills National Cemetery. Trees can go about their slow business there undisturbed for long periods of time, or at least until someone finds the scarce funds to cut them down. Go to any old cemetery today and admire the trees. They will be magnificent, but they won't be there forever.
The magnificent trees I'm mourning survived Hurricane Sandy's gale-force winds, but they couldn't survive the ensuing contract that used FEMA funds to cut them down. These nearly century-old dogwoods were all completely covered with swollen flower buds that will never open to welcome springtime, just as the dead soldiers for whom they were planted will never see the summer, fall or winter of their lives.
Sad, sad, sad.
One of over a dozen dogwoods marked for removal in Cypress Hills National Cemetery, now wood chips
The largest had a DBH (Diameter at Breast Height) of 12-14 inches and was over 30 feet tall. It was probably planted in the 1920's and may have been the largest flowering dogwood in New York City