Ballard monkey puzzle tree gets new home

Truth be told, the tree had stayed long past its welcome.

Jody Grage planted the conifer 15 years ago outside her Ballard home, a quirky gift from her teenage son, who promised to take the tree when he got his own place.

He moved on. But the tree remained, growing to 21 feet and showing no signs of stopping. So Grage decided late last year to donate it to the Washington Park Arboretum.

On Friday morning, crews dug out the monkey puzzle tree by its roots. The tree is so named because its razor-sharp leaves could confound a monkey.

The tree will be on display at the Northwest Flower & Garden Show at the Seattle Convention Center next week before it reaches its new home — a 12-acre garden at the south end of the Arboretum.

Monkey puzzle trees were once the fashionable tree of choice in the Seattle area, said Jacque Higgins-Rosebrook, events and volunteer coordinator for the Arboretum Foundation. With a prickly network of branches, they can grow upward of 100 feet with life spans of more than 150 years.

Native to South America, the trees became so popular here that saplings were handed out during the Seattle World's Fair in 1962, she said.

But a deep freeze a few years later largely wiped them out. And garden-lovers, like fashionistas, flocked to other trends, she said.

Grage's monkey puzzle, however, "is one of the loveliest specimens I've ever seen," she said. "Just look at that symmetry."

By 9 a.m., a small crowd gathered as workers positioned a tulip-shaped spade around the tree's base. In one smooth motion, the spade, which was attached to a truck, exerted 12,000 pounds of force into the damp soil. And slowly, the tree began to rise.

"It's moving! It's moving!" one woman shouted.

"Oh, this is just awesome," Grage said. "I can't believe it's happening."

With a final push, the tree was mechanically hoisted onto the truck.

"I plan to visit it in the Arboretum," Grage said. "Every time I see this tree, I can't help but think of my son and his fascination with strange things."

Sonia Krishnan: 206-515-5546 or skrishnan@seattletimes.com