The Spiller Field Magnolias will live on across Atlanta
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Trees Atlanta plans to take more cuttings from the magnolia. Photo: Thomas Wheatley/Axios
Part of one of Atlanta's most beloved trees came crashing down over the weekend. But the Spiller Field Magnolias will live on.
Why it matters: Cuttings taken the grand magnolias in 2013 have already been planted across metro Atlanta.
- And experts say the damaged magnolia could eventually send up new shoots from its stump.
Catch up quick: Over the weekend, one of the main trunks of one of the two beloved trees, both estimated to be roughly 125 years old, fell behind the Midtown Place shopping center on Ponce de Leon Avenue.
- The split was "caused by a natural occurrence that occasionally happens," an Atlanta Beltline spokesperson told Axios.
- The damaged tree's other main trunk remained standing, the AJC reports. The second magnolia was not damaged.
Flashback: From their perch on a slight incline in the outfield of Spiller Field — known for most of its existence as Ponce de Leon Park — the magnolias watched baseball history and Atlanta's modern development boom.
- Located across the street from Ponce City Market, the baseball stadium was home to the minor league Atlanta Crackers and the Negro Leagues' Atlanta Black Crackers. The stadium was demolished in 1966, but the trees remained.
Zoom in: The trees' DNA lives on across the city, Greg Levine, executive director of Trees Atlanta, told Axios in a statement.
- In 2013, Trees Atlanta harvested 180 5- to 6-inch clippings from the magnolias. The nonprofit's nursery partner, Bold Spring Nursery, propagated the clippings for several years until they grew large enough to be planted.
Those genetically identical trees have been planted across metro Atlanta, including outside Truist Park and the old Black Crackers' practice field in southwest Atlanta's Bush Mountain neighborhood.
- The nonprofit plans to make additional cuttings, Levine said.
Levine added that the tree's root system could send new shoots through the tree stump. "If so, we can work with the property owner to care for it, so the tree can thrive in its original location for years to come."
What's next: A representative for Coro Realty Advisors, Midtown Place's owner, told Axios that the company has given permission to Trees Atlanta to handle and repurpose the fallen wood.