80 years of history and archives at the Montréal Botanical Garden : Historical Path [Jardin botanique de Montréal]

Arboretum

Cutting down one tree ... to save others

Destroying a mature tree that's part of a valuable collection wouldn't seem to make much sense. Yet that's what those in charge of the Arboretum sometimes have to do in order to save the rest of the collection.

But before sacrificing a tree - especially when it's a rare species or the only representative of a species - they take a cutting so that it can be grown in a nursery and the specimen can be returned to the Botanical Garden collection.

Jardin botanique de Montréal (Archives) - call number:rmi000478

Jardin botanique de Montréal (Robert Mineau)

In recent years, a number of the Garden's birches, some of them quite large, have had to be cut down as a result of bronze birch borer damage.

Jardin botanique de Montréal
(Gilles Murray)


ASIAN LONG-HORNED BEETLE This insect native to Asia attacks healthy trees. It was first identified in North America in New York State in 1996, and appeared in Ontario in September 2003. The only means of controlling it is to cut down and burn the infested tree and all others within a 400-metre radius.	EMERALD ASH BORER This pest was first reported in Michigan in 2002 and shortly afterward in Essex County, Ontario. Also native to Asia, it multiplies extremely quickly and has already caused considerable damage in our neighbouring province, where millions of ash trees have had to be destroyed.
Photos: Thierry Poiré, ACIA / CFIA - David Cappaert, Michigan State University