Mystery in Ridgewood: Why Are Downtown’s Newly Planted Trees Suddenly Dying?
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, An alarming trend is unfolding on the sidewalks of Bergen County. Members of our staff have observed an inordinate number of recently planted young trees rapidly dying throughout Ridgewood’s Central Business District (CBD).
The sudden loss of these trees has sparked serious concern among local environmentalists and residents alike, raising questions about what—or who—is responsible for damaging the Village’s green canopy.
Is Poison the Culprit? The Weed Killer Speculation
While young trees face plenty of urban stressors, the sheer volume of failing trees has pointed toward a more malicious or negligent cause. Current local speculation is that liquid weed killer may be the primary culprit behind the sudden die-off.
Chemical herbicides sprayed improperly near the base of sidewalks can easily leach into tree wells, poisoning the root systems of young, vulnerable saplings.
A Call to Action for Ridgewood Residents
Local advocates are trying to piece together exactly what is happening. Has anyone witnessed liquid weed killer being sprayed around downtown sidewalks or tree wells by property owners, commercial tenants, or landscaping crews?
If you have any information, photos, or have seen active chemical spraying in the commercial district, the community is urging you to speak up to help protect the remaining streetscape.
Flipping the Script: Save the Trees at ‘Mulch Monday’
While local groups investigate the cause of the dying trees, residents have an immediate opportunity to fight back, heal the downtown canopy, and improve the neighborhood’s aesthetic.
The annual Mulch Monday event is officially scheduled for Monday, June 29, at 8:00 AM in the Central Business District.
Why Volunteering Matters
Participants will spend the morning mulching tree wells throughout the downtown area. Properly applied mulch acts as a natural shield for urban trees by:
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Insulating roots from extreme summer sidewalk heat.
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Retaining vital moisture so young trees can survive dry spells.
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Creating a physical barrier that discourages improper chemical spraying right at the root line.
How to Volunteer and Help
If you want to lend a hand, earn community service hours, or help preserve the beauty of your hometown, volunteering is easy.
To sign up for Mulch Monday or report information regarding the dying trees, please email Councilmember Siobhan Winograd directly at [email protected].
Bring your work gloves, grab your neighbors, and let’s protect Ridgewood’s trees!
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Maybe there’s a lot of dogs peeing on the new tree or maybe you should have the soil tested,
Ohhhhh,
What’s amazing with this story is, sometimes you’ll see a sign in certain towns. This town is a tree community, they probably get some bullshit program money if you plan trees, but they don’t tell you how many trees die, because they’re not maintained, the box department is planting trees, which is all well and good. But if you can’t maintain them, what good is it. Hop in your car drive around town and take a look, I’m sure there’s many streets that need to be pruned, low hanging limbs stuff like that there’s no way in hell that the shade tree department is on top of all the pruning. Impossible and of course, someone’s gonna put thumbs down, you don’t have to believe me go for a ride and look up.
I do usually thumbs down but you got a thumbs up from me …. this time.
Trees and bushes dying left and right at Habernickel. Probably toxic soil never tested
Didn’t we spend a ton of money on these trees?
Was there a watering plan for the now dead tree?
Talk about barking up the wrong tree. Perform an autopsy then, geniuses. The herbicide doesn’t disappear right away. Collect the samples, test them, then get back to us before accusing people of poisoning trees.
No, it couldn’t be your incompetence, no, it must be a serial tree killer. We need someone to dress up as a bush and try to catch the Root Stalker before he strikes again.
The retards think you just throw a young tree in the ground and wallah.
Nah it ain’t that easy.
Ridgewood please prune the da gone trees will ya ? Tired of bending around a fkin tree everytime i walk in town. Are the trees limbs shallow cause yall a bunch of midgets?
3 trees planted same time up at The View on Crest all died at once as well this spring. Looked just like that.
I remember about 10 years or so ago they had a shit load of trees, just sitting down in a recycling yard that would never planted, and they went up dying.
Classic
They just paid a company 100k to water the trees.
Complain, complain, complain! You realize they were just going to cut them down in a few years when they grew into the power lines, right? They’re literally saving the village money by killing the trees now before they kill them later at a much higher cost. I thought you all liked saving money?
That’s ridiculous to pay a company to go on water trees, why don’t the village go out and buy a water truck, and higher seasonal employees to take care of the trees they can order them, but fertilizing, ridiculous. The village loves to spend money that they don’t have. What are they gonna do with not receiving this $7 million in taxes from Valley Hospital. Are they gonna raise everyone’s taxes to pay for it, or are they gonna float a bond, or you know what?
Maybe fake trees would be a better like the artificial turf fields.