City of Paducah Code of Ordinances Chapter 118 regulates and controls planting of trees and shrubbery, encourages the protection of existing trees in the streets and public grounds within the City, and establishes procedures and practices for fulfilling these purposes.
How do you find out if a business is licensed to operate in the City? Contact the Revenue Division of the City Finance Department at 270-444-8513. These dedicated individuals help people discern the safety of operators and businesses locally, a huge bonus when you are in the midst of renovations and repairs, or even looking for a legitimate lawncare or treecare business.
Paducah has a Tree Advisory Board. The Board promotes urban forestry, reviews requests for permits for any planting, removal, and/or trimming or cutting of trees in any public area, and advises appropriate municipal agencies on matters of care, preservation, planting, removal, replacement, or disposition of trees in parks, along streets, and in public areas as needed. For more information about tree selection and care, contact the Engineering Department at 270-444-8511.
The Civic Beautification Board (CBB) was officially established by City ordinance in July 1960. The CBB has the mission of creating a more pleasing environment within our community through the instigation, association, cooperation, and coordination of individuals, organizations, businesses, and government on local, state, and national levels.
Rain gardens are landscaped areas around your home planted with wild flowers and other native vegetation that soak up rain water. The rain water is mainly from impervious surfaces such as the roof of your home or other building. The purpose of the rain garden is for a few inches of water to fill the garden after a storm and then the water will slowly filter into the ground. Without the rain garden, the water would quickly run off to a ditch or storm drain. The rain garden allows more water to soak into the ground. Other benefits include reducing stormwater runoff, filtering of rain water of pollutants before it enters the ground, enhancing the beauty of yards and neighborhoods, and providing a habitat for birds, butterflies, and insects.
The Lexington Fayette Urban County Government and associated businesses and organizations have developed materials for homeowners to use to build a rain garden, and they have graciously provided those materials to the City of Paducah. Click Rain Garden Brochure for a brief overview of rain gardens. Click Rain Garden Manual for a 12-page document (5MB) with how-to instructions.
Your local nursery, tree care professional, or Cooperative Extension office will help determine which variety of trees works best for your specific site.
International Society of Arboriculture - General tree and certified arborist information
Kentucky Arborists Association - Kentucky's tree care industry
Kentucky Division of Forestry - General tree information
McCracken County Cooperative Extension Office - Horticulture and other information
Trees and shrubs enhance the aesthetic, environmental, and economic value of your property. Trees insulate your home and block wind during the cool nights, and they shade your doors and windows during the warm days. You can save up to one-third off your energy bill with proper tree and shrub placement. For more information about which trees and shrubs would work best for your conditions, visit www.treesaregood.org, your local Cooperative Extension Service Office, the Paducah Tree Advisory Board, or a certified professional landscape contractor. Below are some helpful hints for a successful planting program.
The winter season often brings heavy snowfall and/or ice. Salt is great for clearing roads, driveways, and sidewalks of ice and snow; however, salt can be dangerous for your trees, according to the tree experts at the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA). Excessive exposure to salt can cause widespread damage to your trees, leading to permanent decline and sometimes death. The problem with salt damage is that it might not show up on your trees until summer, when deicing salt is the last culprit you would expect.
To minimize the damage done to trees by deicing salts, certified arborists at ISA offer the following tips:
Not all trees are created equal. Just because a species of tree is native to the area doesn't mean that all varieties or cultivars of that species will work in your specific landscape location. Before planting a tree, do your homework.
Example - White Birches. White birches cannot be planted in dry, hot sites, or they will be stressed and prone to bronze birch borers, a flying insect, which, in its larval stage, can kill a tree. Plant a different variety such as river birches in that location since they are not as susceptible to those insects.
Example - Bradford Pear. The ornamental Bradford pear tree has beautiful blooms in the spring, glossy lush leaves in the summer, brilliant fall foliage, and a wonderfully tight branch structure in the winter. However, most Bradford species have brittle wood and poor branch connections. The tree typically lasts only 12-20 years before being severely damaged or destroyed in ice or windstorms. The Bradford cultivar Chanticleer, also known as Cleveland Select, doesn't suffer from the poor branch connections.