Castle Village

A tree is scheduled to be planted in the oval between 180 and 200 on Tuesday, April 27.

Many of you will recall that a magnificent tree once stood in this location. It was an American Elm (Ulmus americana) and was one of the original Castle Village trees. It was determined that the tree was infected with the Dutch Elm Disease and was quickly removed to avoid the spread of the disease to other elms in the neighborhood, including our other elm, which today remains healthy in front of the Castle Village office. The tree removed was a significant loss for our 180 and 200 residents, and to our entire CV community.

The Garden Committee has worked closely with RBA’s landscape architect, Tom Fein, to find a suitable replacement tree. Although there are now hybrid elms which have been developed to be more disease-resistant, these hybrids still remain untested over the longer term. A Northern Red Oak (Quercus rubra) has been chosen, instead.

A native species to our region, the Northern Red Oak is relatively quick-growing and should survive our challenging site situation along the Hudson River. As its name suggests, the leaf color becomes a principal feature. Early spring growth is a dusty bronze-red color, and the shiny green leaves in summer turn to a deep to bright red leaf color in the fall. We hope that this will bring great seasonal interest and pleasure to everyone.

The Castle Village Garden Committee