Washington, D.C.'s cherry blossom trees a blessing from Japanese mayor

I read with interest Elizabeth M. Sullivan's May 2 letter to the editor. Her references to the many people being ignorant to history and planning are enlightening.

However, there is at least one reference to which I must take exception. That is President Nixon's diplomacy with Japan, which resulted in the U.S. receiving the 3,500 cherry blossom trees for the Washington, D.C. Tidal Basin.

As a native of Washington, D.C., born in 1943, I have always been quite familiar with the cherry blossom trees.

They were, in fact, a gift of 3,000 trees from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo to the city of Washington, D.C. in 1912. A first batch of 2,000 trees arrived diseased in 1910 but were replaced by the 1912 gift of healthy trees.

In addition to the welcome gift, there was another unplanned "gift" of the Japanese beetle. The hardy insect would feed on the leaves of any healthy broad-leaf tree in the surrounding suburbs, leaving holes in the leaves.

These critters especially liked the Chinese elm tree in our front yard. I fought them off from trees for many years.

Larry Covins

Bradenton

This story was originally published May 7, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Washington, D.C.'s cherry blossom trees a blessing from Japanese mayor ."