Saguaros weigh 100 lbs. per foot (45 kg. per .3 m) and they have no tap root. Their roots are only about an inch or two below the surface of the desert. That puts them at risk of toppling if they are not healthy.
It would be a shame to lose this saguaro. It is well over 100 years old, as they do not even grow their first arm until about 80 years.
And if it falls, stand clear. People have died if they are careless driving and they run off the road into a giant saguaro. In fact, there was a tragedy of a private airplane pilot who had engine trouble coming in for a landing at Scottsdale Airpark. He successfully landed his plane in the desert, but hit a saguaro that toppled over onto the cockpit and fatally crushed him. What a tragedy, just as he probably thought he had saved himself from an emergency.
Today is Sunday, so we have new photos of posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site. This week we are returning to show some more photos from my recent raft trip through the Grand Canyon.
4 comments:
One of these giants toppled over in my neighbors front yard. It was quite a process to haul it all away.
I've seen many of these big guys that have been transplanted to a new location and they require braces like this for quite a long time to makes sure they have safely adapted to their new environment.
I have helped a friend transplant a saguaro. It was a very tough job, even though it did not have any arms.
It was transplanted. They brace them to keep them from falling over while they are re-rooting.
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