PLANTINGS BY TORREYA GUARDIANS
Ocoee watershed, southeast of Chattanooga CLINT BANCROFT, 18.5 acres.
• The longest-term Tennessee planter, who also is lead experimenter in achieving genetic diversity by rooting basal leaders of mature trees.
Access Clint's detailed, photo-rich WEBPAGE of ongoing Torreya ashievements. There you can also access VIDEO DOCUMENTATION: March 2015 and March 2019.
Spring City, east ridge along Cumberland Plateau CHRIS & CHRISTINA ANDERSON, 232 acres
• The largest seed planting facilitated by Torreya Guardians: 400 seeds directly into forest soil in ravines of 232 forested acres (a Tennessee Stewardship Forest).
Access photo-rich WEBPAGE, which also includes link to a September 2017 VIDEO DOCUMENTATION of the first set of newly sprouted seeds (which the Andersons had planted directly into forest soil, usually under rocks to protect the seeds from rodents).
Unicoi, north of Asheville COURT LEWIS, 12 acres
Seeds from Torreya Guardians donated from our Fall 2015 seed harvest. Spring 2017 he began to report germination.
Access the photo-rich WEBPAGE of ongoing results.
Nashville, Tennessee
SITE: Private property, 33 acres protected from development by a conservation easement. Located 30 miles NE of Nashville, along a reservoir portion of the Cumberland River; elevation 400 feet. Land is partially wooded by several glades and large trees; mostly deciduous. Mostly open areas with maples, redbuds, and white pines planted. Plantings include other imperiled trees: Franklinia, Georgia Plume, anise, wafer ash, and corkwood trees. The property also has 20 American Chestnuts growing as part of the back-breeding program with the Chinese chestnut.PHOTO LEFT: Seedling in pot in Sugartree Arboretum, Nashville, 2011.
PHOTO MIDDLE: Young tree purchased in 2010 and planted at the Cumberland River site. Photo taken 2011.
PHOTO RIGHT: Specimen that began as a 2009 seed germinated in this pot. This is the only one of 10 seeds that actually germinated from a set of 10 seeds donated to this property by Cheekwood in 2009.
Torreya Guardian in charge of this site: Vicki Turner / 615 516 5578
NOVEMBER 2011 UPDATE: This site received 40 seeds from the Fall 2011 Torreya Guardian seed distribution.
APRIL 2025 UPDATE: This planting is defunct or the original owners have left.
HISTORIC, REPRODUCTIVE PLANTING IN NASHVILLE Cheekwood Estate and Gardens, Nashville TN:
Howe Garden (at Cheekwood) received 3, two-year-old Torreyas from the U.S. National Arboretum in 1985. As of 2018 when Torreya Guardians contacted staff, two of the three trees were still thriving: one male and one female.
Their first seed production occurred 24 years after planting. The largest specimen measured at 18 inches circumference, 35 feet tall, with a 20 foot spread in 2012. Both specimens in 2018 were over 40 feet tall.
Seeds/cuttings were collected in 2009 and propagated with assistance from Dr. Croom (grandson of the discoverer, Hardy Croom).
Cheekwood also received 6 seedlings from Atlanta Botanical Garden in 2000. These specimens are located by the Development House, and they are also thriving and producing seed.
Many thanks to Cheekwood Plant Collections Manager, Shanna Jones, for taking the time to provide a full history on the Cheekwood Torreyas in 2018 to Torreya Guardians planter and archivist, Paul Camire in Capac, MI.
PHOTO: April 2025 by Christopher Hutson, Peoria IL, torreya planter.
