The books of Pascal Pompey Pirone (1907-2003) were some of the earliest guides to maintenance of the woody plant collection at the Washington Park Arboretum. This seventh edition from 2000, titled “Pirone’s Tree Maintenance”, is available and frequently checked out. 
One of its three co-authors is Thomas P. Pirone, the son of the original author.
While much of this book is on the nuts and bolts of tree management, the beginning discusses the value of trees in a place like the Arboretum: “Trees, environment, and every form of life within an ecosystem are interrelated and interdependent. Implicit in the concept of an urban forest ecosystem, then, is the idea that people have an effect on trees and trees an effect on people.”
Reviewed by: Brian Thompson on February 24, 2025
Excerpted from the Spring 2025 issue of the Arboretum Bulletin