Narberth panel narrows fall planting species, flags red maple concentration risk

Commission members spent significant time refining the species list for the fall planting, balancing homeowner requests with long‑term street‑tree diversity. One member noted several earlier requests (including an April request for redbuds and eastern dogwood) and the group agreed to add an American hornbeam to the small‑tree list and two additional medium species to broaden variety.

Members explicitly discussed concerns about over-reliance on red maple: Chair recalled a prior Morris Arboretum survey that showed the commission had planted many maples previously and warned that a pest targeting that species could remove a large share of the canopy. The commission framed the species changes as both a stormwater-management and resilience decision and agreed to finalize the amended species list before submitting counts to the Conservancy.