Friends of the Geelong Botanic Gardens member and garden guide Peggy Muntz said it is a major milestone for the Gardens’ staff.<\/p>\n
“I’ve always loved ancient things and the redwood has got to be one of the highlights of the Gardens.<\/p>\n
“We’ve got this row of bunya pines (Araucaria bidwillii<\/em>) that stands out a lot among our bigger trees, but The Big Tree would have to be the Gardens’ main attraction.”<\/p>\n Ms Muntz has led visitor groups around the venue for the past five years.<\/p>\n The Jan Juc resident said the tree was worthy of being placed on the National Trust’s Register of Significant Trees of Victoria in 1984.<\/p>\n “It’s only a baby at 150 years; these trees can live up to 3,500 years at most.”<\/p>\n The tree is also one of the garden’s oldest, planted four years later than the Geelong Botanic Gardens’ maidenhair tree (Ginkgo biloba).<\/p>\n The tree’s seed was brought over to Australia from California’s Sierra Nevada mountain range to be germinated.<\/p>\n Ms Muntz said the tree’s population continued to decline in the wild for two reason.<\/p>\n “First, climate change has led to less water falling as snow, so less snow melt means trees can’t cope with the long, dry summers.<\/p>\n “Second, seeds don’t grow in forests protected from fire. The ground litter is too deep.”<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2023\/07\/IMG_0646-300x200.jpg\")
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