Recently the horticulture staff received some help from the City’s Forestry Department to do some tree maintenance in the Tropical Encounters exhibit. Some of the large trees in the exhibit were beginning to out-grow the space and needed to be pruned back or removed completely. The horticulture staff typically does plant maintenance in the exhibit but when it comes to the removal of very large trees, the forestry crew is better equipped to tackle such a task. This giant McCaw palm had reached the top of the exhibit structure. Removing it was no easy feat, especially considering that the trunk is covered in very sharp spines! The crew also pruned the Balsa, Kapok and Hogplum, all of which were outgrowing their space, and removed the tallest section of a Peach Palm which was pressing on the glass.