A two-man crew treated the Old Apple Tree Tuesday morning with an eye toward the present and another looking ahead to the spring.
As branches fell from the highest reaches of the tree, they were collected for a grafting procedure planned for March.
“We’re taking weight off the top so there’s no further breakage,” said John Dale of Collier ArborCare.
Dale was atop a ladder making precise cuts to the 184-year-old tree while John Buttrell of Arborscape Tree Service gathered cuttings that will eventually become part of the tree and provide a new network for nutrients traveling from the roots to the upper branches. About 150 slender wands, 18 to 24 inches long, were expected to be used to regenerate the healthy tissue.
The bridge graft procedure aims to treat cavities the tree sustained amid gusty winds in June 2009. It’s also possible someone climbed the tree that summer.
Until an orchardist performs the operation, the wood will be stored at the National Clonal Germplasm Repository in Corvallis, Ore.
“They’re trying to restore living tissue,” Buttrell said. “I was trying to get some good scion wood for it.”
A similar pruning was performed a year ago. A grafting, too, was performed in March.
Buttrell and Dale are part of a team donating time and materials to treat the tree. They both declared the apple tree that was reportedly planted in 1826 to be in good shape. They worked for about 90 minutes as a member of the City of Vancouver Urban Forestry Department looked on.
“It seems to be responding to the care that it’s getting,” Buttrell said. “It’s somewhat surprising how much new growth is has on it.”
Dale acknowledged the living landmark is stressed.
“It’s very vigorous, though,” Dale said. “It’s very healthy. We’re just trying to keep it going.”
