When Good Things Happen to Big Trees

By Gene Heller

April 30, 2025

On April 29, 2025, the large Atlas cedar that once stood in a wooden box near the front gate of the Bonsai Garden at Lake Merritt was relocated to its new home. It was planted in the ground within the Gardens of Lake Merritt, near the perimeter fence between Gates #1 and #4. In its former spot along the path to the bonsai garden, several Japanese black pine bonsai will now take its place.

The project took about five hours, and involved a forklift, a small front loader, and an all-volunteer crew of experienced, hard-working individuals.

Bill Castellon managed the project, guided the forklift, and sliced off a huge swath of roots from the bottom of a very root-bound square shaped root ball, before the tree was lowered from the forklift into the square hole that had been prepared for it by Keary Brink and Henry Zavala from the Oakland Parks and Recreation Department. The work required Bill Castellon, equipment operators, Keary Brink and Henry Zavala, and from the bonsai garden, Gordon Deeg, Suzanne Muller, and Fabian, all of whom did a ton of work at both ends of the journey, prying the tree from its container at the start, and digging and preparing the new hole at the other end of the trip. I was there to shout encouragement.

The big wooden cedar box was constructed specifically for the Atlas cedar, using Japanese joinery techniques of having no metal hardware. The remains of the box were removed from the path and will eventually be partially recycled and end up as compost.

The large Atlas cedar was donated to the Bonsai Garden at Lake Merritt by the late Johnny Uchida, who owned Grove Way Bonsai Nursery, in Hayward, California. A plaque will be placed at the site of the Atlas cedar to honor his memory.