48 Injured Trees Will Be Uprooted At OKC's Myriad Gardens

Covered in snow and ice, the Myriad Garden's ‘Great Lawn' was quiet this weekend. But on a better day, the place is bustling. It is home to lunch breaks, long walks, Frisbee, outdoor movies and exercise.

“We are definitely Oklahoma City's central park,” Myriad Gardens spokesperson Christine Eddington said.

But the ups and downs of warm and cold weather in our state have taken a toll on one of the metro's most visited parks. So Monday marks the beginning of a change in scenery; 48 trees surrounding the Great Lawn will be sawed down.

There's no hope for the maple hybrids, Eddington told News 9. She said they have what's called sunscald, or southwest disease. The injuries are irreversible and will eventually kill the trees.

“When the trees are young and they have very thin bark and the heat of the summer sun burns and scalds the cells and when it cools down in the evening those cells expand and contract and ultimately explode,” she explained.

The cells explode and eventually strip the southwest sides of the trees, Eddington added.

First, crews plan to cut down all four dozen trees. And then when their hearty replacements arrive, each stump will be uprooted. It's a process that won't look pretty, but Eddington said it will ultimately be an improvement.

“Nothing bad is happening to these trees. It's actually something good for the gardens,” she said.

The project will take a couple of months to complete, Eddington said. The trees will be replaced with 48 Zelkovas.