The namesake bloom of the magnolia tree is the official state flower of Louisiana.
"Magnolias that sat in water for over five days turned brown after three weeks and are dead," said Coleen Perilloux Landry, chair of the Live Oak Society. The society is part of the volunteer-run Louisiana Garden Club Federation.
More than 30 years ago, Landry planted magnolia trees in the courtyard of the Ursuline Academy, the oldest girls' school in the United States, established in 1727.
"All of the magnolias in the Sacred Heart courtyard died and were removed," Landry said. "[It's] so sad."
Not Out of the Woods
Scores of trees managed to survive the initial impacts of Katrina, only to soak in stagnant water. The flooding caused the soil to get very soft, and the strong winds and additional flooding from Hurricane Rita just a few weeks later easily uprooted the trees.
Despite the fact that many trees appeared to have endured Katrina and Rita, the damage from the flooding is now starting to show.
"We're not out of the woods in terms of the condition of the trees," Campbell said. "The root damage from the flood waters often takes years to manifest itself. They may look like they're doing OK but continue to decline."
An inventory of trees pre-Katrina exists for New Orleans, but there have been no complete surveys to assess the extent of the damage since.
"We have no counts yet, but we need to know that so we know how big our job is," Campbell said.
Last year the National Audubon Society and the National Arbor Day Foundation started the Katrina Tree Recovery Campaign.
Through this program, nearly 22,000 trees have been donated to coastal communities in Mississippi and Louisiana to replace the many trees damaged or destroyed during the hurricanes.
In Louisiana, Arbor Day is observed on the third Friday in January, when communities take part in tree planting throughout the state.
"Our Arbor Day is in January, so we're done with our planting," Campbell said.
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