Reduce, reuse and recycle is for more than waste. Unique and historic trees can now be saved and replanted too. When Rick Vespa, President of English Gardens Landscape Company, heard of the upcoming destruction of a 40-year-old espaliered Apple tree, he wanted to find a way to save it.

Rick learned of this tree while planning his daughter’s wedding in the next-door neighbor’s yard. Rick asked the homeowners for permission to use part of their property for the event. They graciously agreed with no strings attached. But one day, Fran’s daughter, Barbara, asked Rick to have her father’s special tree pruned as a favor.

“I went to the house and pruned the tree myself with Fran watching through the window” Rick says. “It was a lot of pressure since Fran had personally cared for his tree until his health prevented it. I wanted to take special care of it. Fran tended his prized tree for more than 40 years, and it was truly a labor of love for him.”

Fran passed away shortly after the wedding at the age of 99. His house was later sold and scheduled to be demolished.

“Knowing the tree would be destroyed and Fran’s fondness for the tree, plus its emotional and historical value, I decided to try and find a way to relocate it.” Rick said.

One day, during the concept stages of moving the tree, while sifting through some Landscape trade newsletters, Rick stumbled on an article about a startup company called ReTree. It is a division of Green Acres Farms. The company is set up to save and broker specimen trees from construction sites and landscape renovations. Ironically, they were located nearby in Pontiac, Michigan.

“I gave them a call the same day. When I told the owner Dennise Vidosh the story, she said “I’m in”, “I will move it”,” Rick says.

Rick learned that Fran was a member and key benefactor of St. Hugo’s Catholic Church in Bloomfield Hills and Rick’s friend Tim Holden of Holden Landscape Services was the Landscape contractor for the same parish. So, Tim and Rick surveyed the grounds of the church and settled on the Southwest wall of the new church for the prized apple tree.

In January of 2019, the ReTree team excavated the tree. It was eventually packed it into a box in March. On April 9, 2019, the Retree Team and Holden Landscape loaded the tree on a trailer. That same day, Holden Landscape moved the tree to its new location at St. Hugo’s and carefully planted it. Rick was there to assist with the planting helping to remove the box and guide the roots in to the surrounding soil. He also returned to fasten the branches to the wall so they were properly supported. The process took many hours spanning 4 months from the initial excavation to planting, but Fran’s tree is transplanted and looking great in its new home.

Check out the full story here.