These trees were planted within a system of Silva Cells that will not only nurture them but provide stormwater management as well. The catchment area on this project is over 15,000 feet. The average soil volume per tree is 500 cubic feet.

City officials and developers across the state of Texas are counting on new planting technology to create green areas with mature urban trees, which they hope will attract new business as well as better manage stormwater and save energy.

The technology is an underground framework that provides soil access to support long-term tree growth, greatly improving the odds of the trees' survival.

Called the Silva Cell, it is used on project sites where there is limited space for large trees in open planters due to paving. According to its manufacturer, DeepRoot, the soil contained in the system creates what is essentially an underground rain garden, capturing stormwater that falls on the site using the soil, tree roots, and tree canopy. Depending on the size and design of the system, thousands of gallons of water can be prevented from entering sewers, creeks and adjacent watersheds.

Five of these installations have already been completed in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Fort Worth, and more are in the pipeline for 2014.

"When we started looking for opportunities to collaborate on green projects across the United States, we immediately wanted to focus on Texas," said Brenda Guglielmina, the account manager at the manufacturer who worked on these projects. "We saw the momentum in the state around green initiatives like wind and energy and decided to tap into the strong desire to be more environmentally conscious and to be more conservative in terms of water usage."