The root of the problem is just that. Ficus benjamina has shallow and aerial roots and a wide canopy that makes the tree top heavy. Donald Goulding, a Hollywood landscape inspector, told the Herald about 95 percent of the ficus trees were pulled out of the ground in a 20-block area. He estimated the city lost close to 60 percent of its canopy trees.

Jeffery Siegel, the city’s landscape architect, told the Herald that planting live oaks and cypress were a better choice, although they take twice as long to produce a canopy the size of a ficus. Siegel doesn?EUR??,,????'???t support the ficus ban, but believes they should only be planted in wide-open areas. It?EUR??,,????'???s has also been suggested that clustering cypress and palms with the ficus would create buffers against strong winds and would minimize damage.