To mark both Earth Day and Arbor Day, which occur this week, Young’s Nurseries will plant a 30-foot pin oak in the center of its property in the heart of Wilton on Saturday, April 25. The community is invited to watch the proceedings which will begin around noon.
“We routinely plant trees significantly larger than this one, but this project is very special due the history of the tree we’re replacing,” said Scott Deniston, the nursery’s president.
“We’ll be grilling, and featuring 15%-off sale on all potted flowering trees this Saturday” said Carrie Ricciardi, Young’s Nurseries store manager.
For more than 40 years, an iconic pin oak tree majestically overlooked the Young’s property. Originally placed there as a young specimen for sale more than 40 years ago, it became a living symbol of Young’s Nurseries as part of the company’s logo.
The expectation that it would eventually be purchased and taken offsite meant the original tree was never planted in-ground. Nevertheless, the tree began to thrive, sending roots into the ground. Due to its central position in the lot, the partners at Young’s decided to build an enclosure around the tree in place, and there it thrived for decades becoming synonymous with Young’s Nurseries. The widening of adjacent Route 7 necessitated a significant raising of the grade surrounding the tree, along with zoning-mandated paving to enlarge the parking lot. Unfortunately, this put the tree under stress and it began to decline.
The planting of the new pin oak, a species that does exceptionally well here in Connecticut, celebrates the spirit of Earth Day as it represents sustainability and an investment in the future, the company said in a press release, which cited an ancient Chinese proverb: The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago — the next best is now.
Arbor Day, which falls on the last Friday of every April, is first and foremost a celebration of the planting of trees, originating in Nebraska in the 1870s. “When we were planning the planting we were happy we’d be able to have it coincide with Arbor Day,” said Deniston. The tree will be trucked from Young’s Nurseries’ Woodbury location earlier in the week.