- Thu
- Oct 3, 2013
- Updated: 4:56pm
Experts demand the truth about Disneyland's dying palm trees
Independent inspection shows invasive red palm weevils have joined coconut leaf beetles in destroying Magic Road's expensive trees
The government is under pressure to make public its health reports on the afflicted palm trees lining the avenue approaching Hong Kong Disneyland after an independent inspection yesterday found their condition deteriorating.
The government says the expensive Canary Island date palms on Magic Road are infested by coconut leaf beetles but tree experts say they have also been attacked by the more invasive red palm weevils.
Observations yesterday during a visit by the South China Morning Post with University of Hong Kong ecology expert Jim Chi-yung found evidence of the weevils' presence although none of the adult insects were spotted.
Dozens of small holes were found in most of the 72 trees affected and pounding on their trunks produced a hollow sound indicating that parts of the interior had been eaten away, cutting water and nutrient supplies to the leaves.
The worst-affected trees had more than 30 of the small holes near the base of their trunks in which grubs, their excreta and decayed wood were hidden.
Jim said the number of dying leaves on the trees was three times that of a healthy palm.
Workers were seen removing dried and yellowing leaves yesterday.
Jim and a fellow member of the government's expert panel on tree management, Dr Eric Lee Yin-tse, called for the release of the maintenance contractor's monthly health reports on the trees. They said little information had been released by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.
It is not known whether the palms - bought from Australia and stored in the mainland to avoid quarantine inspections - were infested on arrival.
Jim said the weevils, which often attack Canary Island date palms, were difficult to spot as their larvae remained in holes drilled in the trunk until they hatched and the adults flew out, a process usually taking 100 days.
He also said the trees, which grow better in a dry environment, had been mismanaged. Their crowns were surrounded by decorative ferns, which would accumulate water and attract insects while a thick layer of moss found on the bark indicated they had been over-watered by tall sprinklers nearby.
The department, which has been responsible for the trees' maintenance since 2006, could not say yesterday how many were infested, the species of pests found or how the trees are being cured.
"The government has spent HK$10 million importing 100 palms, which could be a Guinness World Record," Jim said.
"The public has the right to know what's happening to the trees."
Lee agreed, adding it was important to know how the trees were being treated.
He said his previous inspection of the trees found termites attacking at least seven trees. "Planting shrubs near the base of the palms was the wrong decision. [Shrubs] need frequent irrigation, which will threaten the palms," he said.
The department said it would not disclose the reports but would seek advice from the expert panel. "The current pest control measures are effective," a spokeswoman said.
Vice-president for operations at Hong Kong Disneyland Damien Lee Tang-ho declined to comment on whether the park's image would be affected, adding that it had no plans to replace the trees at this stage.
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11:49am
Chek lap Kok airport alone cost the tax payer more than triple that in money thrown down the drain by way of dead imported palm trees.Hundreds of mature imported coconut palms were planted when the airport was finished. The majority died within two years, the entire planting redone. The fault lies squarely with the contractors used.Coconut palms are not suitable for our climate, its too cold. Even basic research would have told them that. Coconut palms are tropical we are not.
Maintenance cannot be blamed.
The unearthed fiasco at Disney with the Phoenix canariensis (Canary palm) is but a tiny tip of the ice-berg of imported plants many mature specimens trees and shrubs that died or are dying, most not suitable for Hong Kong's climate.HK rainfall average 3400.3 mm the Canaries 127mm!
The true figure of the money wasted is yet to be unearthed,it will truly shock!
At best marginal at worst completely hopeless truly vast sums were spent both at the airport and Disney on such plants.The tax payer has a right to a proper explanation over how the government went about deciding on the contractors used and the contractors should be held fully accountable.
Palm weevils are just the final nail. Due to no quarantine of P.canariensis we now have an alien invasive pest R.cruentatus. It will decimate all the palms across HK unless very urgent action is taken.
7:26pm
4:01pm
12:06pm
I do care by who, why and how the original expense of HKD 10m of public money to plant 72 otherwise uninspiring trees was authorised. And let's especially find out which third party benefited from this the most.
Are we going to be unpleasantly surprised to learn that the Exotic Palm Tree Import Company Limited was owned by the brother in law of the Secretary for Disneyland?
Or maybe we will soon find out that Disney flew a couple of key officials to Florida for a week-long, all-expenses-paid, first-class 'working visit' where they got the 'idea' for the palm trees?
11:10am
8:54am
7:33am
"In contrast, one biodiversity professor at the University of Hong Kong took aim at the government's decision to spend $1.3 million to plant 100 foreign palm trees on an entry road to the Disneyland theme park now being built.
"It's wasting taxpayer's money," said Billy Hau, an assistant professor who has childhood memories of the feng shui trees near the 900-year-old village where he grew up.
The high-priced trees leading into Disneyland will create an image that's not real Hong Kong -- with 26-foot palm trees that originally came from Spain's Canary Islands but were grown in Australia.
"Foreigners often have a misconception, thinking Asia must have tall palms and coconuts, but what we have here are only the small ones," Hau said. "It would give Disney visitors a unique flavor of South China if we plant native Chinese banyan instead."
The government defends its decision -- and the hefty tree bill -- as the right way to make the park look more like Disney's flagship in Southern California.
Hau and other green advocates fear that the local subtropical trees may vanish completely as Hong Kong puts up colorful or hardier exotic varieties -- in public squares, along roadsides and highways, and even in country parks where urban dwellers escape for a taste of nature.
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