Work. The Work shall include furnishing all labor, tools, and equipment to supply and install trees and various landscape material on public property. The Work shall include maintaining and guaranteeing all trees in accordance with the specification herein. Tree Requirements. A. Nursery stock used on this project shall meet all requirements of the most current edition of the American Standard for Nursery Stock (ANSI Z60.1). All trees shall be true to scientific name as established in the Standardized Plant Names (American Joint Committee on Horticultural Nomenclature). B. Trees shall be nursery grown, freshly dug, true to natural form, branching, and self-supported with one straight original terminal leader intact. Trees must be dug from a growing area north of 39 degrees north latitude. C. The Contractor shall provide certification, accompanied with each shipment, that all trees are free from injurious plant pests by the tree’s state of origin. D. Trees shall be of the size no less than that specified herein. E. Tree may be inspected and selected by the City Forester at their place of growth or upon delivery for conformity to specification requirements. Such approval shall not be construed as a waiver of the Forester’s right to inspection and rejection of any trees during the installation process. F. Trees shall be adequately balled in burlap (BB) in sizes as specified in the planting detail or bid form. Trees with loose, broken, or manufactured balls will be rejected. G. Balled and burlapped (B&B) trees that cannot be planted immediately upon delivery shall be set on unfrozen ground and well protected with soil, wood mulch, or other material acceptable to the Forester. Trees that are stored at the site and have excessively dry tops or dry or frozen root balls shall be rejected. 4. Installation. A. Locations. The Forester shall stake locations before any installations begin. The Contractor will be provided a list or site plan indicating the species to be planted and their locations. The Contractor is responsible for locating all underground utilities and ensuring they are not damaged during installation of the trees. The Contractor shall stop work and notify the Forester immediately if a staked location is in conflict with an in-place utility. The Forester shall modify the location for the tree upon notification of the conflict. B. Backfill Soil. The Forester shall determine the suitability of existing soils. Soil excavated from planting holes shall be reused unless it is determined by the Forester that existing planting soil must be modified or replaced to enhance the existing poor planting conditions. Additional soil determined necessary by the Forester shall be supplied and installed by the Contractor at no additional cost to the City. C. Root Collar. The Contractor shall remove all materials used to secure the root ball/basket to the root collar. The Contractor shall replant trees planted deeper than the original root collar identified by the Forester at no additional cost to the City. D. Root Ball. Contractor shall remove the top two thirds of the wire basket and burlap before backfilling the hole. E. Mulch Material. Mulch shall be processed shredded hardwood and free from any twigs or leaves. Placement of mulch, as directed by the Forester, shall be included in the unit price bid for each tree. F. Watering. The Contractor shall water trees in during the planting process. Additional watering during the warranty period is optional. G. Tree Wrapping. The Contractor shall wrap all smooth barked tree trunks up the first functional branch with wrapping material specifically designed and manufactured for horticultural use when planting in the fall.
