Hot Dallas summer causes brown landscapes

 

Looking north at Forest Lane on the Central Expressway in Dallas. Notice that this overpass is cast-in-place concrete, which is highly unusual for Texas.

A brownout has hit Central Expressway. In the past few weeks, motorists have started complaining about the poor condition of thousands of plants along the 10-mile section from downtown to LBJ Freeway. Once a centerpiece of highway aesthetics and landscaping, many once-thriving trees and plants are now a dismal shade of brown.

?EUR??,,????'??This area gets brown trees about every five or six years,?EUR??,,????'?? told Patrick Haigh, landscape architect for the state Transportation Department?EUR??,,????'???s Dallas office to LASN. ?EUR??,,????'??We?EUR??,,????'???ve had an extremely dry period. It usually rains about 3 1/2 inches in June and that month was pretty dry.?EUR??,,????'??

That responsibility falls on the Texas Department of Transportation, which is spending $400,000 a year for the road’s landscape maintenance. The agency acknowledges that there are problems and offers several reasons for Central’s parched look. First, the state is working with a landscape contractor that won the two-year contract for the first time this spring.

?EUR??,,????'??We hired a new landscape contractor that wasn?EUR??,,????'???t familiar with our irrigation system and is trying to get up to speed,?EUR??,,????'?? said Haigh. ?EUR??,,????'??We have an extensive system out there with 40 irrigation controllers. A weather station is set up, associated with the irrigation system and has the capability of evapotranspiration detection, if adjusted. The landscape contractor was trained in May with a Rain Bird Maxi system.?EUR??,,????'??

The variety of trees along the Central Expressway range from bald cypress, shumard oaks to pecan trees. Shrubs include Mexican buckeye, red bud, Mexican plum and Yaupon holly, all native to northern Texas. The non-native ground covers are drought-tolerant and include Japanese honeysuckle, vinca and lirope.

The city of Dallas receives all of its water from reservoirs, yet Haigh said he hasn?EUR??,,????'???t heard of any water rationing yet, despite six straight days in August with the mercury soaring above 100 degrees. Dallas Water Utility enacted an ordinance three or four years ago that prohibited spray irrigation between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. There?EUR??,,????'???s no restriction as to when drip irrigation can be used. Typically the irrigation is set up to run before the traffic flow starts at 5:30 a.m. but the landsape contractor has also recently supplemented the trees and shrubs by irrigating with a water truck, said Haigh.