Laguna Tree Lover Fights For Bedraggled Urth Caffe Eucalyptus

LAGUNA BEACH, CA —Urth Caffe's unique, towering Eucalyptus tree is slated for removal, even after thousands of dollars have been spent to try and save it. On Tuesday, the Laguna Beach city council voted in favor of removing the tree, which some say is dying.

A local horticulture expert is battling back saying the tree needs to be topped, instead of removed.

"I spoke against the removal of the tree at the recent council meeting," Ruben Flores told Patch.

Flores holds his degree in horticulture and has owned a high-end, specialty landscape company in the City of Laguna Beach for the past 30 years. He was the mind behind Laguna Beach's first official Arbor Day celebration, held over the summer.

Flores heartily disagreed with Mayor Bob Whalen when the mayor said the tree was "moving into poor health, at the recent council meeting, as reported by the Orange County Register.
But Flores knows a thing or two about Laguna Beach's trees.

They are well-known for shedding bark, for their twisting arms and rustling leaves. This type of Eucalyptus tree grows sturdy and tall with minimal assistance, according to Flores.

The shape could be pruned, Flores suggested, much as the Pepper tree outside of city hall.

"This tree is doing well. For the last ten years, this Eucalyptus tree has grown tall and healthy," Flores said. "To properly judge how the tree is faring, you need to compare it to a similar species of Eucalyptus. If you do so, you can see that it is healthy as ever."

Eucalyptus trees South on Coast Highway, in front of the White House all the way south, though much younger in age, you can find the same craggy Eucalyptus in the same reaching shape, according to Flores.

"It's not that this tree is doing poorly, it's just the way it grows," Flores told us.

The tree is 50-years old, and as such, will commonly have fungus at the base, Flores said.

"These trees grow well in Laguna," he said. "The city does no irrigation for the trees, and no organic insecticide is used on them. They grow big and tall all by themselves."

According to the city's assistant manager, Shohreh Dupuis said that Urth Caffe is supportive of the tree removal.

Patch has reached out to the city and will update this report when a response is received.