Appreciation: Big old Quercus rubra on the old Woodlands School site

We went to check out some late-blooming cherries at a condo development on the site of the Provincial Lunatic Asylum, so named in 1873, in New Westminster, BC. In my posting there, I mentioned the old oaks and the view of the river. Here are photos of the Quercus rubra.

 

Among specimens of note I remember being on the site in the past are golden catalpa, golden ('Aurea') red oak, yellow variegated tulip tree, purple elm, a towering silver linden and Standish arborvitae.

http://www.rhcs.org/enews/SPRING Newsletter2022.pdf

 

Thanks for the link to the Riverview Horticultural Society spring newsletter @Ron B. While the Woodlands site in New Westminster has a river view and was a mental hospital, it is a different location from the Riverview mental hospital in Coquitlam. I've been on the Riverview site, and I confirmed locations of trees (identified by others) there that are on the Vancouver Trees App - UBC Botanical Garden map, which I'm unable to use now, since the map on Android devices stopped working for me several Android versions ago, much to my sorrow, but the Android version never was released to the public anyway.

A short article in that newsletter that I found worth reading, though it's not really new news, is "TREE HUGGING? DON'T KNOCK IT 'TIL YOU TRY IT" (from Craft Therapy: 101 Creative Ways to Relax, Ed. Sarah Crosland). It also lists some recommended books.

The feature article in that newsletter edition concerns the destruction of one of the historic buildings on the Riverview site. On the Woodlands site, there is quite a bit of signage about the proposals to preserve Woodlands' Centre Block Tower, which were opposed by former residents; New Westminster council voted in July 2011 to demolish the tower. Source: Woodlands (New Westminster) - Wikipedia. There are several links there to the history of the site.

 

I didn't notice previously that the two New Westminster oaks had been cut back on a prior occasion - all the main branches have points where they were brutalized, then formed a clutter of abnormal forking in response and continued on. Without further interruption. Thereby making the original heading cuts pointless. Same as with any other version of tree topping that is not followed up on.

 

I see what you mean. I was so impressed by the size that I didn't realize that they should have been more graceful.

 

For the best grasp of what the listed dimensions indicate click through to the 3rd and 4th pictures.

Northern Red Oak - OH - American Forests

 

Are you saying that these oaks I was all excited about are puny? They're impressively large on their site.