(f) Care during construction.-The Contractor shall be responsible for protecting and caring for seeded areas until final acceptance of the work. He shall repair at his own expense any damage to seeded areas caused by pedestrian or vehicular traffic or other casuses, except for conditions as covered in Section 107.16. (g) Supplemental Applications.—Before final acceptance of the project, the Engineer may direct that supplemental applications of fertilizer, seed, mulch and water be made to areas that were previously seeded. (h) Jute Matting.-Jute matting (mesh) shall be placed over the mulch as shown on the plans. Method of Measurement 625.04 Measurement for seeding will be as follows. (a) By the acre of ground surface. (b) By the 1,000 square feet unit of ground surface. (c) By the slurry unit. Water for seeding will be by the 1000 gallon unit measured prior to application. The quantities of fertilizer, seed, and mulch for supplemental applications to be paid for shall be the number of tons, pounds, and tons respectively, furnished and acceptably spread, completed and accepted. The quantity of jute matting to be paid for will be the number of square yards, surface measurement, completed and accepted. Basis of Payment 625.05 The quantities determined as provided above will be paid for at the contract unit price per unit of measurement, respectively for each of the pay items listed below. This payment will be full compensation for furnishing and placing all materials, labor, tools and incidentals necessary to complete the work prescribed in this section. When the bid schedule does not contain a pay item for water under this Section, water for seeding, fertilizing and mulching will not be paid for directly but will be considered as a subsidiary obligation of the Contractor covered under other contract items. Payment will be made under: Pay item 625(1) Seeding, Hydraulic Method (without mulch)... 625(3) Seeding, Hydraulic Method (without mulch). Pay unit A cre Acre Sq. Ft. Unit A cre Pound Ton Sq. Yd. M (1000 gallons) Section 626.-FURNISH AND PLANT TREES, SHRUBS, VINES AND GROUNDCOVERS Description 626.01 This work shall consist of furnishing, delivering, and planting trees, shrubs, vines and groundcover plants of the type, size, or age indicated on the plans or in the special provisions including all materials and incidental operations completed in reasonably close conformity with these specifications. Materials 626.02 Materials shall meet the requirements specified in the following subsections of Section 700-Materials: 626.03 (a) Planting seasons.-The planting shall be done during the seasons as shown on the plans, or directed by the Engineer. No planting shall be done in frozen ground, when snow covers the ground or when the soil is in an unsatisfactory condition for planting. (b) Delivery and inspection.-The Contractor shall notify the Engineer in writing not less than 15 days in advance of delivery of plants from the nursery or collecting source. All plant materials shall be available for inspection in the nursery or collecting fields before it is dug. The Contractor shall furnish the Engineer complete information concerning the source of supply for all plant material. Inspection of materials at the source shall be at the discretion of the Engineer. Approval to move nursery material shall not be considered as final acceptance. All plant materials shall comply with State and Federal laws controlling inspection for plant diseases and insect infestations, and the Contractor shall deliver to the Engineer all required certificates of inspection. (c) Protection and temporary storage.-The Contractor shall keep all plant material moist and protected from drying out. Protection shall include the time when the plants are in transit, in temporary storage, or on the project site awaiting planting. Plants delivered but not scheduled for immediate planting shall be protected as follows: Bare root materials in bundles shall have the bundles opened, plants separated and then heeled-in in trenches. Balled and burlapped (B&B) materials shall have the earth balls covered with sawdust, woodchips or other suitable material and kept in a moist condition. (d) Layout.-Plant material locations and bed outlines shall be staked on the project site by the Engineer. The Engineer may adjust plant material locations to meet field conditions. (e) Excavation for plant pits and beds.-Prior to excavating for plant pits and beds the area shall conform to the lines and grades shown on the plans. All sod, weeds, roots and other objectionable material unsuitable for backfill shall be immediately removed from the site and disposed of by the Contractor in a manner satisfactory to the Engineer. The size of pits in earth excavation shall bear the following relation to the spread of the roots (or diameter of ball) of the plants to be planted in them. For root spreads up to two feet, pit diameters shall be twice the root spread. For root spreads from two to four feet, pit diameters shall be two feet greater. For root spreads over four feet, the pit diameter shall be 11⁄2 times the root spread. The depth of all pits shall be adequate to permit a minimum of 6 inches of prepared backfill soil under all roots or balls. The following depths are required unless otherwise shown on the plans or ordered by the Engineer. The soil at the bottom of the plant pit shall be loosened to a depth of at least six inches by spading or other approved methods before backfilling for planting begins. (f) Plant boxes and header boards.-Plant boxes and header boards shall be constructed as shown on the plans. Plant boxes shall be installed so that the top of the box is level. Header boards shall be installed so that they are level across the area between the headers, but follow the finished grade longitudinally. Where asphalt concrete or portland cement concrete surfacing must be removed to permit the installation of plant boxes or header boards, the area to be removed shall be outlined with a concrete saw or other suitable equipment, and cut to sufficient depth that a clean, straight edge will remain after removal of the surfacing. Lumber for header boards and wooden plant boxes shall be construction grade heart redwood, S4S, or shall be construction grade Douglas fir, S4S, pressure treated. Sides of wooden plant boxes 16 feet, or less, in length shall be constructed of one continuous board. Nails, lag screws, and hardware shall be galvanized. Commercial quality galvanized nails, lag screws, and hardware will be accepted. After construction, the outside surfaces of wooden plant boxes shall be stained with a commercial quality stain. The color shall be as specified in the special provisions or as directed by the Engineer. Concrete masonry blocks used in the construction of masonry plant boxes shall conform to the requirements of ASTM C 129. Portland cement concrete shall be produced from commercially available aggregates and cement and shall contain not less than 564 pounds of cement per cubic yard. Hand mixing of concrete will be permitted. (g) Prepared backfill soil.—The prepared backfill soil shall consist of a mixture of topsoil, loam, or selected soil, and peat moss or peat humus. The mixture shall contain four parts topsoil, loam, or selected soil to one part of peat moss or peat humus. (h) Setting plants.—All plants shall be set approximately plumb and at the same level or slightly lower than the depth at which they were grown in the nursery or collecting field. (1) Bare root Stock.-Prepared backfill soil shall be placed in the plant pit to the required minimum depth. Bare rooted plants shall then be placed in the center of the plant pit and the roots properly spread out in a natural position. All broken, or damaged roots, shall be cleanly cut back to sound root growth. Backfill soil shall then be carefully worked around and over the roots and thoroughly and properly settled by firming or tamping. Thorough watering or puddling shall accompany backfill around bare-rooted plants. Earth saucers or water basins at least 4 inches in depth for trees and 3 inches in depth for shrubs, shall be formed about individual plants with a diameter equal to that of the plant pit. (2) Balled and burlapped stock.—Balled and burlapped plants shall be carefully placed in the prepared pits on the required depth of tamped backfill soil so as to rest in a firm, upright position. Plants shall be handled and moved only by the ball. Backfill soil shall then be filled in around the plant ball to half the depth of the ball, then tamped and thoroughly watered. The burlap shall then be either cut away and removed from the upper half of the ball or loosened and folded back, after which the remainder of the backfill shall be placed. Earth saucers or water basins shall then be provided and the plant thoroughly watered. (3) Container Grown Stock.-Container grown stock which has become "pot-bound" or for which the top system is out of proportion (larger) to the size of the container or has roots growing out of the container will not be acceptable. The stock shall have a fibrous, cohesive root system. Container grown plants shall not be removed from the vessel until just before planting, and all due care shall be exercised to prevent root system damage. (i) Fertilizing.—A commercial fertilizer of the type indicated on the plans or in the special provisions shall be provided and applied uniformly around the pit area of individual trees, shrubs, vines and ground covers and over shrub beds. The rate of fertilizer application for the varieties of plants used shall be shown on the plans or in the special provisions. Fertilizer shall be applied and cultivated into the top two inches of the plant pit area or shrub bed within five days after planting. At the discretion of the Engineer, fertilizer in the proper amounts for each type of plant may be worked into the prepared backfill material. Fertilizer shall be applied prior to mulching of plant pits or shrub beds. (j) Watering.—All plants shall be watered during and immediately after planting and at such intervals during the plant establishment period as determined by the Engineer. Water shall not contain elements toxic to plant life. At each watering the soil around each plant shall be thoroughly saturated. Watering ordered by the Engineer to be applied to plants during the plant establishment period shall be measured and paid for separately. (k) Guying and staking.-All trees shall be guyed and staked in accordance with the details shown on the plans as soon as the plant is in place. (1) Wrapping.—Only deciduous trees shall require wrapping. Trunks of trees at least 2 inches and over in caliber shall be completely wrapped with burlap or other approved material beginning at the base of the tree and extending to the first branches. Wrapping shall be tied at the top and bottom and at two-foot intervals. Wrapping of tree trunks shall not be completed until after inspection and approval by the Engineer. Wrapping of tree trunks shall be completed within 24 hours after inspection by the Engineer. (m) Anti-desiccant spray.—The use of an approved anti-desiccant spray in place of wrapping shall be at the direction of the Engineer. (n) Pruning.-Pruning shall be done before or immediately after planting in such a manner as to preserve the natural character of each plant. All pruning shall be done by experienced personnel with properly conditioned equipment and in keeping with accepted horticultural practice. Cuts over 3⁄4 inches in diameter shall be painted with an approved tree wound dressing. (0) Mulching.-Mulch material shall be furnished and placed over all pit or saucer areas of individual trees and shrubs and over the entire area of shrub beds to the depth as indicated on the plans. Mulch material may be wood chips, sawdust, peat moss or other material approved by the Engineer. Plants to be mulched with wood chips or sawdust shall receive 8 pounds of nitrogen per cubic yard of mulch material in addition to the normal dressing of commercial fertilizer. Mulch shall be placed within 24 hours after planting. 626.04 Restoration and Cleanup. Where existing grass areas have been damaged or scarred during planting operations the Contractor shall be required to restore the disturbed areas to their original conditions as directed by the Engineer at no additional cost to the Government. The Contractor shall clean up all debris, spoil piles, containers, etc., and leave the project in an acceptable condition. 626.05 Plant Establishment Period and Replacements. The acceptability of the plant material furnished and planted as specified shall be determined at the end of a period of establishment during which the Contractor shall employ all possible means to preserve the plants in a healthy growing condition. The plant establishment period shall be one full growing season. Care during the establishment period may include watering, cultivating, pruning, repair and adjustment of guys and stakes, and such other work as ordered by the Engineer. Dead or unsatisfactory plants shall be promptly removed from the project. A semi-final inspection by the Contractor and the Engineer will be held to determine the acceptability of the plant material 15 days before the end of the full growing season. During the next planting season following completion of spring or fall planting all dead and unsatisfactory plants shall be replaced in kind or quantity and size with live healthy plants installed as originally specified. Alternate or substitute varieties of plants shall be used only if approved by the Engineer. A final inspection of all plant material will be held within 15 days after the replacement planting has been completed. Method of Measurement 626.06 The quantity of plants to be paid for shall be the number of living trees, shrubs and vines of specified kinds and sizes furnished and planted in accordance with these specifications and accepted. Only living plants in healthy condition at the time of final inspection will be accepted. Basis of Payment 626.07 The quantity of trees, shrubs, and vines measured as provided above planted and maintained in accordance with these specifications shall be paid for at the contract unit prices each for planting of the types, species and sizes called for in the bid schedule. Topsoil, other than prepared backfill soil, if required, will be measured and paid for as provided under Section 624. 628.01 This work shall consist of furnishing and planting of living grass plants, furnishing and placing fertilizer, also ground limestone when required, all in reasonably close conformity with these specifications at locations shown on the plans or designated by the Engineer. |