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A century-old tree that was chopped down by city workers this spring to the dismay of local residents could turn over a new leaf.
An arborist is using a salvaged piece of the massive American Elm — which had grown on 34th Street for decades before it was cut down by the Parks Department in March — to try to clone the tree, which was beloved by neighbors on the block.
Residents had watched in horror three months ago as workers cut down the tree, which the Parks Department said had begun to show signs of decay.
Anna Jutis, who's lived on the block for more than 40 years, kept several pieces of the tree that were left behind as mementos — including a large section of a branch, which she put in her backyard.
Jutis was surprised, she said, when she noticed the piece begin to sprout new branches and bright green leaves a few weeks ago.
"Suddenly we noticed a little branch, and then gradually longer and longer, and more, more all around," said Jutis, a retired paraprofessional. "I was so happy. That tree did not die. That tree survived."
A neighbor who learned of the tree's re-birth contacted David McMaster of Bartlett Tree Experts, who came and took cuttings from the Elm on Monday afternoon and will use them to try and grow clones of the original tree.
"It's going to have 100 percent DNA of the original plant," he said. "To try and get 100 percent of the real tree back to them."
McMaster will bring the 15 to 20 cuttings he took to the greenhouse at John Bowne High School in Flushing, where he and students in the agriculture program will attempt to get them to grow roots by dipping them in a "root generating hormone" and planting them in perlite and water.
7 comments:
Those people sure are gullible.
What kind of third-grade teacher make-believe joke is this? These are the kind of things Toby's UFT bull dykes keep generating.
Halleluljah! Now I believe in resurrection! Praise the Lord!
Hmmmm.....that little sprig will take 100 years to reach its former grandeur.
Crucify the tree cutter!
And when the homes on that block are leveled and replaced with monstocities 20 years down the road, that little twig will be nowhere to be found.
To all the above, welcome to Vallonia.
At least you can get craft beer and cheese.
Didn't they do the same thing in Flushing with the old tree by the Bowne House?
Nice, in a way, but a 6 inch sapling from that tree is not really the same as a 100 year old magnificent tree, is it?
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