Want to see what’s happening in Northwood Hills? The Northwood Hills Breeze gets published and mailed to residents about four times per year with tons of useful information including details about new regulations or initiatives from the city, helpful tips related to the particular season we’re in, a community calendar, a real estate report, contact information for Board members, a bulk trash collection schedule, and much more! Local businesses advertise in it as well, which helps to underwrite the cost of the publication and showcases service providers who cater to Northwood Hills. Read our most recent newsletter. To find out about some of our recent projects, check out our blog posts below. To learn more about the benefits of membership, visit the Benefits page.
Interested? Membership runs on a calendar year basis, and dues are $400 for the calendar year. If you join now, your membership can start immediately and run through all of 2026. Pay online with Paypal or a credit card, send funds through Zelle to membership @ northwoodhills.org, or mail your check to NHHA, PO Box 800874, Dallas, TX 75380. Thanks for your support!
Discount at Local Tree Farms
There’s a popular Chinese proverb that says, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” Northwood Hills’ trees took some big hits this year, which is devastating for many reasons including visual appeal, shade, and property value, just to name a few. NHHA member Amy Schellhorn reached out to WW Tree Farms to secure a 20% discount for those homeowners looking to replace trees that were destroyed. Since fall and winter are a great time to plant trees, and NWH residents can get 20% off, this could be your chance to fill a void left by our recent storms.
Some of the trees recommended are Live Oaks, Bur Oaks, Red Oaks, Cedar Elms, Chinese Pistache, Bald Cypress and Maples. To learn more about types, sizes, and pricing, visit the Tree Farm at 11641 Newberry, Dallas, TX 75229 or call William Young at (214) 226-2076. They have many more trees available than the ones in stock and can work with you to find the right tree for your property. All of WW Tree Farm prices include delivery, planting, and a one year warranty. Possible additional costs include a daily rental fee of $750 for a Skytrac and $250 for materials for plants 8″ and larger in caliper. If you order multiple trees for your property or combine your order with your neighbor, the Skytrac cost can be shared.
Tree Farm hours are 9am to 5pm, Monday through Saturday. You can coordinate with interested neighbors for shared deliveries or reach out to Amy at schell@sbcglobal.net to find out about a potential bulk delivery date in January or February.
A District 13 constituent, Brant Landry, coordinated with Texas Tree Farms for a 33% discount off retail on trees, bushes, flowers, greenery, mulch, granite, and pea gravel. Since Texas Tree Farms is located farther away from our neighborhood (3150 South Highway 287, Waxahachie, TX 75165), Brant is hosting a Q&A at his office building at 12404 Park Central Drive on Wednesday, December 4, 2019 at 6:30pm. This will be your opportunity to ask questions about what to plant and what different species are available. In addition, orders can be placed in person with Texas Tree Farms after the meeting. If you are ready to purchase now, you can email texastreefarms@gmail.com to begin the process. Make sure to reference Landry Buying Group to secure the discount.
Fannin Tree Farm is offering special pricing for storm victims. They have hundreds of beautiful trees ranging in size from 45 gallon to field-grown 12″ caliper and larger specimens in stock. For more information and pricing, contact Bonnie Reynolds or Margie Webb and reference REPLANT TOGETHER. Bonnie can be reached at 469-631-9131 and Margie can be reached at 214-585-7614.
It is recommended to take the next several weeks to prepare your areas for tree planting. If you are going to plant where an existing tree was located then the stump needs to be ground at least 24 inches below the surface. You also might need to have root removal done. You might want to have your arborist/landscape company come out and prepare the areas prior to ordering.
As always, do your due diligence before making a purchase or hiring any contractor. NHHA does not endorse or evaluate any product, service, or company referenced herein.
Our thanks to Amy Schellhorn and Brant Landry for their efforts in securing discounts for our residents.
National Good Neighbor Day – 2019
In the past, NHHA has celebrated Good Neighbor Day with thank you notes and balloons, fire station donations, children’s hospital toy collections, and a blood drive. This year, we’d like to honor and celebrate our immediate good neighbors by encouraging block parties on Saturday, September 28. We saw a lot of helping hands after the big storm in early June, and we think this is a great way to show appreciation for the wonderful folks around us and build more camaraderie in case a severe weather event befalls us again in the future. Start reaching out to your neighbors to see who is interested in hosting and helping. You can make it a lawn party or a progressive party where you visit a few different houses for different courses – whatever works best for you. Just make it fun! NHHA can help with coordination in the next couple weeks if you are having trouble getting traction. We can also donate some drinks and name tags to your event once you have confirmation it’s happening! After your plans are underway, let us know, and we can help get the word out so neighbors know where to gather.
Tree Survey Results
Because it seemed many Northwood Hills residents lost entire trees or major sections of trees, NHHA member Amy Schellhorn spearheaded a project to gather data about the losses experienced. She wanted to find out if some species of trees were more likely to uproot or lose large branches and which ones fared the best. NHHA members were invited to participate in a survey to share details about the damage they experienced and the trees that stayed strong.
Seventy-five households were represented in the survey and of those, twenty-two reported uprooted trees. Oaks (unspecified) made up the majority of trees lost, with crepe myrtles coming in second. Almost 80% of respondents reported the loss of large limbs (greater than 1 foot in diameter). Red Oaks, Live Oaks, and Cedar Elms were the biggest offenders in this category. Some households reported minimal to no damage on some of their trees, with most mentioning Live Oaks and Crepe Myrtles in their responses. Respondents attributed regular pruning and the specific location of the tree (i.e. if it was shielded from high winds by a house or other tree) as the reason for minimized damage. The full data, along with recommendations, is shown below:
1) Were any trees in your yard completely uprooted in the storm?
53 households had no trees uprooted.
22 households had trees uprooted.
Here are the species of the uprooted trees:
9 – Oak (not specified)
6 – Crape Myrtle
3 – Live Oak
3 – Elm
3 – Red Oak
3 – Mexican Plums
1 – Red Cedar
2 – Hackberry
1 – Yaupon Holly
1 – Fig
1 – Cottonwood
1 – White Oak (Bur Oak, etc.)
1 – Unknown
2) Did any of your trees experience the loss of very large limbs (greater than 1 foot in diameter)?
18 households experienced no loss of large limbs.
57 households experienced large limb loss in 98 trees.
Here are the species of trees with large limb loss:
14 – Unknown
14 – Red Oak
13 – Cedar Elm
11 – Live Oak
9 – Oak (not specified)
8 – Pecan
7 – Hackberry
4 – Crape Myrtle
3 – Red Cedar
2 – Yaupon Holly, Sweet Gum
1 – Texas Oak, Elm, Magnolia, Post Oak, Bois d’Arc,
Cottonwood, Fig, Bur Oak, Ash, American Elm, Cypress
3) Did any of your trees experience the loss of smaller limbs?
2 households experienced no loss of small limbs.
73 households experienced the loss of small limbs.
Here are the species of trees with small limb loss:
32 – Live Oak
25 – Red Oak
18 – Cedar Elm
13 – Oak (unspecified)
8 – Pecan
7 – Hackberry
5 – Crape Myrtle
4 – Bois d’Arc, Magnolia, Japanese Maple
3 – Ash, unknown, Desert Willow, Cottonwood
2 – Red Cedar, Yaupon Holly, Sweet Gum, Maple, Wax
Myrtle, Dogwood, Cypress, Sycamore
1 – Pine, Vitex, Dutch Elm, Post Oak, Chinese Elm, Texas
Mountain Laurel, Lace Bark Elm, Red Bud, Chitalpa,
Yew, American Elm
4) Did you have trees that experienced no damage, outside of small branches and leaves?
8 households experienced minimal damage.
67 households experienced more damage.
Here are the species of trees that experienced minimal damage
47 – Live Oak
20 – Crape Myrtle
18 – Oak (unspecified)
15 – Red Oak
13 – Magnolia
7 – Japanese Maple
6 – Yaupon Holly
4 – Pecan
3 – Elm, Chinese Pistache
2 – Red Bud, Vitex, Bradford Pear
1 – Lacebark Elms, Fig, Sweet Gum, Pine, Hackberry,
Mulberry, Dogwood, Aristocrat Pear, Cedar Elm, White
Bud, Wax Myrtle
5) Observations/comments from respondents:
Seven people commented that they believed the regular pruning seemed to have helped minimize damage in their trees. In a few cases, people commented that their tree that was severely damaged was sick and in a weakened condition. One person commented that pecan trees are brittle, and was grateful there were no injuries; others commented how sad it is for the neighborhood to have sustained so much damage.
There were several comments on how well the city completed the cleanup, along with advice to stack the debris high and away from the mailbox. Another person noted that trees that received direct impact from the wind were the most damaged. The trees that were somewhat shielded, either by other trees or the house, did not suffer damage. Multi-trunked trees often sustained more damage in these winds.
Amy visited with arborist Alan Johnson of Holcomb Trees to get advice for Northwood Hills’ residents. Alan recommends pruning trees every 2 years, or 3 years in cases of drought when trees aren’t growing as much. In his observations, he noted Cedar Elms and Pecans sustaining the most damage, with the largest Red Oaks more likely to be uprooted. If you’re looking to plant this Fall (the best time to do so), Alan recommends White Oaks, like a Bur Oak or a Chinkapin Oak. They are less susceptible to oak wilt than Red Oaks or Live Oaks. If you’re looking for a faster growing tree, consider Cedar Elm, Sweet Gum, or Texas Ash, but be warned they have softer wood and would be more susceptible to wind damage.
Even though Oak trees experienced significant damage from this unusual storm, it’s important to remember they are typically strong trees with a 200 – 300 year life span. Pecan trees can also live for hundreds of years, but they are known to be more brittle and are “self-pruning.” The magnificent trees in Northwood Hills add value to our properties and enrich our neighborhood, so if you were left with a large void after the storm, consider Alan’s advice, visit a tree farm, and also be on the lookout for a City of Dallas tree giveaway program this fall. Thanks to the survey respondents, our researcher Amy Schellhorn, and arborist Alan Johnson for their contributions to this project.