New Arrival: The Bur Oak Is Back—Sort Of! A Sapling Is Planted

Back in November, along with all the other fall work they do to ready the gardens for winter, Horticulture staff members at Lincoln Park Zoo planted one special tree. And now that spring has sprung, this little plant should be starting to grow.

Zoo fans who are familiar with the grounds may recall the bur oak that used to stand on the South Lawn close to Helen Brach Primate House. After it reached its natural end of life, this beautiful, towering tree was removed in spring 2023 to preserve the safety of zoo grounds. Parts of the tree were sent to The Morton Arboretum, which discovered that the bur oak was 170 years old—older than the zoo itself.

In this Instagram post, the arboretum’s scientists explain what they discovered:

 

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A post shared by The Morton Arboretum (@mortonarb)

But that wasn’t the end of the bur oak’s legacy at Lincoln Park Zoo, which is also an accredited arboretum and botanical garden.

“Before we removed the legacy oak, we took scion cuttings—the last season’s growth—from the final remaining living portion of the tree,” explains Director of Horticulture Katrina Quint. “Those cuttings were grafted onto rootstock with the help of our friends at The Morton Arboretum. This is the first of those trees that we have planted back into the ground.”

The new sapling is a genetic copy of the original and has been planted in the same bed. It’s currently surrounded by fencing for protection. As bur oaks grow very slowly, it will be some time before any part of the tree will be noticeable to guests, but Horticulture staff expect to see leaf emergence by the end of April, just in time for Arbor Day (how fitting!). Of course, weather is a factor, but the tree is expected to grow 8–12 inches annually.

That’s just the part you can see, though. The tree is also developing a root system under the ground and will focus on establishing that for some time. However, after about five years, you’ll see an acceleration of the tree’s growth. It could add up to 40 inches per year. Eventually, the bur oak could stand at 60 feet tall with a 5-foot-wide trunk. It will take some time to get to that point, but it’ll be worth the wait.

The bur oak on the South Lawn provided shade to many a zoo visitor, both human and animal. Hopefully this new sapling will do the same in a few decades.

This month, the zoo’s Arbor Day celebration during Earth Week is a great time to watch spring flowers, shrubs, and other plants bloom—and learn about trees of interest on zoo grounds. Check out our What’s in Bloom self-guided tour to see what is currently blooming. While you’re here, see if you can catch a glimpse of the new bur oak during its first spring! Then, keep coming back to your free zoo to watch it grow throughout the years.