Come this spring, one of Olds' oldest trees will be no more.
The 115-year-old balsam poplar situated in front of the Perry Appraisal Associates house on 49 Avenue was declared half dead after examination by two arborists
“The arborists said it was at the end of its life cycle,” said Patti Gardner, manager of Perry Appraisal Associates Ltd.
The company is keen for the tree to be taken down before its leaves are out, since they will make the tree heavier.
“I have spoken to the Heritage Tree Foundation people and they say that when the trees are dead, they have to go down before they come down and take out a house,” said Gardner.
The tree had been declared a heritage tree in 2005. A plaque had been fixed to its trunk.
“It is a survivor because it has been apparently through a lot over the years,” said Dennis Baresco, president of Heritage Tree Foundation of Canada.
It survived droughts and was directly hit by lightning in 1993. Moreover, somebody had tried to set fire to its trunk last fall.
When measured in 2005, the tree was found to have a diameter of four feet and a height of approximately 70 feet. It had taken three arborists the better part of one day to prune out the deadwood. One of the arborists, Gerda Vester, was the person that brought the attention of the Heritage Tree Foundation to the tree.
“I am pretty sure it was planted a year after the house was built. It is a historical house called the Hunter House,” said Vester.
“From the museum some time ago, there was a postcard that showed a really tiny tree in front of that house. I am pretty sure that is the same tree.”
While Verda said it is possible to extend a tree's life beyond its life cycle with extensive care, it was not an option for the balsam poplar.
“It is planted too close to the sidewalk,” she said.
As for Perry Appraisal Associates Ltd., they are already thinking of planting another tree to replace the balsam poplar.
“I was thinking of a Schubert chokecherry, which only gets about 30 feet tall,” said Gardner.
The heritage plaque will be framed and hung in the building as a memento of the centenarian tree.
