After a severe northeaster, tropical storm, or hurricane, Jim and I always check our property for downed limbs or fallen trees. We are fortunate this week; I see no major damage from last week’s northeaster, although I heard chainsaws busy at work on other properties over the weekend. In October 2019, we lost a huge American beech (Fagus grandifolia) during a tropical storm; fortunately, it fell away from the house, but it caused moderate damage to trees in the woods. I mourned the loss of that beautiful beech for months, and I still miss its shade, but a young sycamore has taken its place, appearing unexpectedly two years ago behind the beech tree site and growing straight and tall. The young tree is about 15 feet tall. Of the 10 species of sycamore (Platanus) worldwide, only one species, Platanus occidentalis, is native to eastern Canada and the central and eastern United States in USDA Hardiness Zones 5-9. A massive tree with a single trunk and an irregular, rounded crown of zigzag ...