Arts of Palm at the Winter Garden
A new generation of 16 Washingtonia Robusta palm trees (more often known as Mexican fan palms) has taken root in the Winter Garden of Brookfield Place. Last night, July 25, workers from John Mini Distinctive Landscapes and Brookfield concluded the two-week process of replanting the Winter Garden palms, a necessary concession to the limits imposed by the indoor environment of the 2,000-pane glass atrium.
Every ten years or so, the palms must be rotated out, as they reach their maximum safe height under the Winter Garden’s glass ceiling. (In the wild, Mexican fan palms can grow to nearly 100 feet tall, and are believed by plant biologists to have a lifespan of 500 years or more.) Native only to the Baja peninsula and a sliver of the Mexican state of Sonora, it is nonetheless among the most widely cultivated palms in the world.
“Brookfield Properties has been working with John Mini Distinctive Landscapes since the 1990s to care for the Winter Garden palm trees,” a spokesman explained. “The firm has been executing a comprehensive plan to ensure the safe, sustainable growth, removal, and replacement of the iconic palms.” The trees removed this month arrived in the Winter Garden in 2013.
Working entirely during overnight hours, the landscaping crew carefully removed the old palms and planted the new saplings, which are expected to grow at a rate of approximately six inches per year. But the trees that have been uprooted will still have a second life. “To honor their long-standing role as a place for serenity and gathering in the Winter Garden,” the Brookfield spokesman said, “the original palm trees will be carefully broken down into rich mulch to support the growth and health of native tree plantings in Rockland County.”