You now have the opportunity to have a clone of an oak tree from Toomer's Corner in your yard.
After Alabama fan Harvey Updyke poisoned the trees in the legendary spot on Auburn's campus in 2010 when Auburn beat Alabama, Auburn's Dr. Gary Keever wanted to make sure the oak trees lived on.
He went over to the trees to take shoots from the roots in an attempt to clone the trees shortly after they were poisoned. However, it didn't work, as there was too much poison in the trees' system.
Keever didn't give up, and tried again last spring before Auburn cut down the trees in April. His efforts were successful.
“The little shoots come from the tree’s roots, and the people at Facilities thought it was unattractive so they said, ‘OK, you’ve got until this time to collect your cuttings, then we’re going to cut them down,’“ Keever told the Auburn Villager. “We went there and took as many as we could and put them in the greenhouse in mist.”
Thanks to daily care of water, fertilzation and pruning, more than 2,100 trees have sprouted and are available for purchase at $125 each. You can pick out your tree too, and each tree comes with a certificate of authenticity and information about it. (Hint, Spike 80DF, the poison Updyke used, will not be among the recommended fertilizers in the instructions.)
According to the Villager, the legacy of the Auburn trees can live on forever. Shoots can be harvested from the clones to create more and more trees with ties to the Toomer's Corner oak trees.
Updyke surfaced last week when it was announced he would be making an appearance at a dunk tank for a charity benefit in Mobile, Ala. However, after backlash towards the event, Updyke's appearance was canceled. He was released from prison in June 2013.
For more Auburn news, visit AuburnSports.com.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
from Yahoo Sports http://ift.tt/1vu66Ki
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