City Trees is a premier publication focused on urban + community forestry. In each issue, you’ll learn how to best manage the trees in your community and more!
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/41336
mer of 1985 in Concord, California. Bank of America constructed a large banking campus in downtown Concord, necessitating the leveling of several blocks of old residential homes. Growing in the footprint of a new office tower was one old olive tree (Olea europaea), reportedly planted in the 1860s, that the Concord City Council deemed a heritage tree in need of preservation. My first experience in moving a large tree Valley Crest Tree Company of Calabasas, California was contracted to move the tree. My job as a field tech for Forest-Ag Corporation of Lafayette was to provide an independent set of eyes during the digging and boxing process, count cut roots, monitor soil moisture condi- tions and provide supplemental watering, monitor the move and planting process, and to provide monitoring and care during the construction process. The olive tree trunk was approximately 42 inches (107 cm) DBH. The canopy was approximately 35 feet (10.7 m) high and approximately 40 feet (12.2 m) wide. Prior to boxing, the olive was severely topped, reducing the canopy size by half. A rootball 21 feet (6.4 m) in diameter and 5 feet deep (1.5 m) weighing approximately 121 tons (110 metric tons) was boxed in heavy timber. Two 250-ton (227 metric tons) cranes were used to load and unload the box. The tree was moved approximately 250 feet (76.2 m). The tree is alive and well today. I provided post-move maintenance until the site was completed in 1985. Typical maintenance included weekly deep watering, periodic fertilization, scouting for insects and diseases, and keeping the sub-con- tractors away from the tree (a six-foot chain link fence was not enough). If you Google Earth the location, the tree is located in a large bosque of trees near the intersection of Park and Grant Streets in Concord. Check it out. How much is a tree worth, and is it worth it? That is in the eye of the person with the check book. In this case, the olive tree was historically significant to the community. And the check book was Bank of America's, of course! —Chris Boza, Community Forester, Hayden, Idaho numerous benefits to the community, a "move" is much more than just picking it up and placing it in its new location. To preserve the numerous benefits trees provide to a community and its residents, something the National Tree Benefits Calculator (www.treebenefits. com/calculator) can help determine, one must plan When something is in the way, you move 18 it. When it's a large, valuable tree that provides Winter transplanting in Minneapolis • Photo by Ralph Sievert carefully—before, during, and after the big move—to ensure survival. In 2004, The Davey Tree Expert Company conducted one of its largest tree moving operations in Auburndale, Florida. The trees were in the heart of upcoming new construction and needed to be relocated. Davey's crews moved two massive live oaks (Quercus virginiana)—one that weighed 353 tons (320 metric tons) and one that weighed 326 tons (295.7 metric tons). The larger tree measured 55 inches (140 cm) in diameter with a 42- foot (12.8 m) rootball, and the smaller tree measured 42 inches (107 cm) in diameter with a 35-foot (10.7 m) rootball. The entire move, including getting to and from City Trees occurred during the fall of 1983 through the sum-