Instant green nirvana

“Need 1,300 numbers of Roystonea regia. Minimum overall height 3.5-4 metres. Minimum grey wood trunk of 0.4-0.5 metre. Minimum trunk caliper (120-130 mm) at 0.1 metre from ground level”

In case you are wondering what these measurements are, they are pointers to a new dimension in landscaping: This is an order for 1,300 fullygrown Royal palms (Botanical name Roystonea regia). At their current price, this Royal palm order will be worth a cool Rs 26 lakh.

Now picture this. At the new international airport in Hyderabad, five gigantic banyan trees (Ficus bengalensis) stand tall amidst the frenetic construction activity. All the trees have one thing in common: they have been transplanted at the airport all the way from Kamareddy, little over 100 km from Hyderabad on the Hyderabad-Nagpur highway.

The airport, which is expected to be up and running by March 2008, is now in the process of planting palm and other big trees spread across 500-odd acres earmarked for landscaping (of a total area of 5,500 acres). The GMR Group, which is building the airport, is also replanting trees uprooted as part of a road widening exercise, as was the case with the banyan trees.

And, GMR is not alone. “Over the last two to three years, probably driven by the growth of IT and other industries, and increased buying power, one can notice an increased demand for instant gardens,” says S. Geetha Reddy, Assistant Director, Horticulture, Government of Andhra Pradesh.

“In fact, people have become very specific in their choice,” says M.M. Hussain (Vakeel to his customers and friends), who runs Plants Land nursery, citing the order for 1,300 Royal Palms (though, he is quick to add that while the clarity in demand is quite common, such huge orders are still not very frequent).

Another case in point is L&T’s housing project at Gachibowli in Hyderabad that has almost perfected the art of re-planting grown-up trees.

In the last one year, it has re-planted 500 trees and will add 4,500 more by August 2009 when the project is completed. The trees here include varieties like Palms and ‘Ficus Twisted’. “We wanted to provide instant forestation and green ambience to people residing here,” says B.N. Ravi, Deputy General Manager, L&T Housing Project (Serene County), spread over 31 acres. The landscaping on a total area of 10 acres involves investment of about Rs 4.5 crore.

IT’S ALL ABOUT ‘GREEN’ BACKS

Tree                                                       Estimated Price*

1. Banyan                                  Rs 20,000

2. Phoenix palm                          Rs 5,000-10,000

3. Royal palm                             Rs 5,000-10,000

4. Fishtail palm                           Rs 5,000-10,000

5. Camel Foot tree                      Rs 1,000-1,500

a. 7-10-year-old tree and weighing about 3 tonnes

b. 10 ft trunk height and about 10 years old

c. Tree with trunk length of 1-3 metres

d. 12-15 ft tall trunk height

e. Trunk length of 1-3 metres                                         *Per tree for a truck load

The scene is no different at theIVRCL Group’s housing project Hill Ridge Springs, again in Gachibowli and right next to the Indian School of Business.

It has planted seven date palms (each around five to 10 years old) around its pool. “We wanted to give a readymade ambience to the people using the pool,” says E. Sunil Reddy, Managing Director, IVR Prime Urban Developers. Planted about 30 months ago, the trees have adapted fast and have even started bearing fruit.

All of this, of course, came at a price of around Rs 7,000 apiece. “Other than providing the ambience, we also saw it as a useful experiment for our future ventures as this will now help us re-plant trees that could get uprooted,” says Reddy.

While the joy of possessing an aged tree is quite evident, the process of planting it is serious business. “It is not very easy and requires very careful handling,” cautions N. Chandra Mohan Reddy, Officer on Special Duty, Buddha Purnima Project Authority of HUDA (Hyderabad Urban Development Authority).

The re-planting process is anything but ‘a quick cut and replant’. Typically, it starts with thepruning of higher branches (called the crown portion) to ensure safe transportation.

While uprooting, the trench is dug around the base of the tree while keeping portion of soil around the root zone. At the time of digging the trench, the lateral roots have to be cut smoothly with a sharp instrument to avoid breaking of the bark and splitting of the root. Finally, fungicide is applied to the cut portion of the root along with a root hormone to encourage root initiation.

Now the tough part—replanting, which can be a major shock for any tree. Depending on the season and the species, the whole process of pruning the branches and roots, digging and getting it ready for replanting could take up to 45 days. Once the tree is transported in the new location, it would have to ideally stay immobile for about two months, informs Reddy.

Equally important is the preparation of the new location. Among others, sufficient drainage needs to be made available in the new location and the new pit has to be at least twice deeper and wider (than the original) for better development of root zone. The soil used around the root zone has to be porous—preferably with leaf mould or farm yard manure, he adds.

Number-crunching doesn’t often work in instant greening because the cost of re-planting depends on the variety, availability of cranes, number of trees that need to be transported and the distance of transportation. For a banyan tree that is seven-to-10-year-old and weighs around 3 tonnes, the cost could be around Rs 20,000 but could vary depending on the distance and logistics involved.

However, not all varieties can take this shock and grow; some respond well and others don’t. For instance, Ficus (in this family are included trees like banyan and pipal), Asoka, most varieties of Palms, fruit and flowering trees like Mango and Gulmohar are all known to generally respond well. Neem and some exotic plants do not adapt as easily. Ideally, the time of sprouting of leaves needs to coincide with the transplanting into the new location.

The big and small nurseries have been quick to cash in on the latest trend. Says Mohid Khan, who has been running a nursery for the last 32 years in the Jor Bagh area of New Delhi: “We have clients coming from corporates, hotels, malls, residential societies and private individuals. Though the trend of replanting of big trees (above 10 ft in height) is as old as 25 years, with the increasing climate consciousness of business community in India, the demand has shot up in the last 5-6 years.”

Khan has grown over 1,000 species of trees (fruits and ornamental), shrubs, conifers, bushes, bonsai, and seedlings in his nursery. “Among corporate clients, the demand is higher for trees such as Gulmohar (Royal poinciana), Champa (Michelia champaca), Astonia, Palm (bottle, fishtail, date) Bamboo (giant and golden), Brassia and Baobab. Depending upon the size and species of the tree, the price starts at Rs 500 and goes above Rs 50,000,” adds Khan.

Khan, in the past, has set up instant gardens in places such as Radisson Hotel at Mahipalpur (at the cost of Rs 52 lakh, including 1-year maintenance cost), Samsung campus at Noida (at the cost of Rs 10 lakh), Select City Walk at Saket, Delhi, among others. A lot of nurseries in Hyderabad have taken to growing trees in containers so that there is no need to uproot them from the ground.

Typically, they offer various types of Ficus and Palms other than fruit trees like mango and sweet lime. Vijaya Phyto Farms, near Hyderabad, for instance, which offers these trees to buyers in Delhi, Mumbai and Gujarat, has had to almost double supplies every year for the past three years. Clearly, this fad is here to stay.

And if you believe in the age-old adage—he who plants a tree, plants it for posterity— it’s time to tweak your belief. These are the times of anytime, anywhere greening.

Additional reporting by Manu Kaushik