There could be a big tree

There is a wealth of information, from seminars, books, and brochures, available to the home gardener inside of the International Flower and Garden Festival’s Garden Town. One handout reveals some interesting trivia, facts, and stories about Disney’s Horticulture, including the story of how Disney’s Horticulture received its logo.

“Nearly 40 years ago, a majestic 130-year old live oak (Quercus virginiana) was found on the eastern part of property and moved about 8 miles to the Magic Kingdom. At the time of the move, this enormous tree weighed 38 tons and had a root ball measuring 18 feet by 16 feet by 4 feet deep. Because of its size and weight, the oak could not be moved by traditional transplanting methods. Instead, holes were drilled through the middle of the trunk and steel dowel pins were inserted so it could be lifted by a 100-ton crane. The entire process took months to complete. Known as one of the most spectacular big tree moving operations, the “Liberty Tree” now stands proudly in the middle of Liberty Square in the Magic Kingdom, with 13 lanterns hanging on the tree representing the original 12 colonies. Our Disney’s Horticulture team was so proud of the successful move, that the “Liberty Tree” was adopted as our official logo.”

To continue the story of the Liberty Tree, the sections of the tree that were extracted to make room for the steel dowel pins were replaced after the oak had been transplanted to its new home. Unluckily for the tree, however, the extracted pieces became infected and began to rot themselves, as well as the tree. The always attentive horticulturists removed the infected sections and filled the holes with concrete. The contaminated segments of the trunk were removed and a second, younger, live oak was grafted onto the original Liberty Tree, leaving the symbol of Disney’s Horticulture to remain standing tall.