Bishkek has every opportunity to once again become one of the greenest cities — landscape architect

Bishkek has favourable climatic conditions and the potential to once again become one of the greenest cities in the region. This was stated by Roman Schneiderman, a landscape architect from Kazakhstan.

According to him, Bishkek should study the experience of other cities and apply modern greening methods.

“Bishkek has every opportunity to become a very green city. You have a very long growing season – nearly six months of warm weather. This means there is a wide choice of plants that thrive and grow well here,” noted Roman Schneiderman.

He also drew attention to plants that thrive in Bishkek but struggle with the climate of neighbouring cities. In particular, he referred to plane trees and sycamores.

“The plane tree is probably considered the best tree for urban greening. They grow quickly; they are enormous giants that reach 20–30 metres in height in just 10–15 years and can live for 300–400 years. They thrive here. You are very fortunate in this respect,” said the landscape architect.

According to Schneiderman, the city needs to manage its existing green spaces wisely — both by planting in areas where there are currently few plants and by taking care of the green spaces that have already been established.

“There’s no secret to it. You just need to roll up your sleeves and start planting,” he added.

Roman Schneiderman also spoke about the plants that had been planted on a trial basis in two flowerbeds on Molodaya Gvardiya Boulevard. These included the ‘Elegantissima’ turf grass with light-green, edged foliage and a golden, lemon-coloured physocarpus. According to him, these plants are hardy and drought-tolerant.

However, Schneiderman emphasised that he was not directly involved in the boulevard’s redevelopment. His role was to demonstrate modern approaches to landscaping and plant selection.