Pruned planetrees

I'm sure we all agree that the tree that we most associate with the streets of Barcelona is the planetree (also known as London planetree :) ).

In fact, more than a third of the approximately 150,000 trees that grow on the streets of the city are platrees. The reason is that they are quite bright and colorful, grow fast, adapt easily to various conditions and provide shade during the hot summer months.

It should also be noted, however, that not everybody loves planetrees. Many people suffer from pollen allergies during spring, and autumn leaves always fill the sidewalks. Some people even say that those leaves are slippery and dangerous. Also, many of these trees are sick and have pests. Who knows, maybe.

Therefore, and in order to counteract the historic dominance of planetrees in Barcelona, the city tries to replace them with other species that are considered best for the city, such as Mediterranean hackberries and cherry plums, especially on those streets with narrow sidewalks.

Planetrees rapid growth and the freedom they need to grow up happy can not be found in many streets, so they have to be pruned, and in a quite severe way. That brings us to a landscape that is also typical of Barcelona, as shown in the image: a street full of banana trunks. It doesn't matter how pruned they are, the trees always find the way t recover. I do not know you, but I like the planetrees.