Buying century-old trees is the new status symbol among billionaires

Today’s super-rich don’t want to spend years waiting for saplings to grow. The luxury landscaping industry is booming with a new obsession: transplanting enormous mature trees — from oaks and palms to baobabs and magnolias — directly into the estates of the wealthy, The New York Times reports.

“Instant gratification” for millions of dollars

While transplanting large plants is nothing new, the astronomical fortunes of today’s tech moguls and investment giants have taken the practice to an entirely different level.

For example, a pair of banyan trees at a Palm Beach property reportedly cost a client $500,000 — $250,000 each. A rare African baobab can cost just as much.

In Newport, Rhode Island, billionaires Larry Ellison of Oracle and Stephen Schwarzman of Blackstone are competing to create the most impressive landscapes around their waterfront estates. Schwarzman reportedly spent around $1 million on a hedge made up of more than 100 mature American holly trees, each standing around 20 feet tall.

Technology has advanced so far that nurseries can even deliver one-ton magnolia trees to Manhattan for installation on the terraces of some of the world’s wealthiest homeowners.

The history and technology behind modern-day “tree flexing”

The trade in mature trees has deep roots. As far back as the 18th century, English landscape architect Lancelot “Capability” Brown redesigned aristocratic estates because his clients did not want to wait 30 years for an oak tree to mature.

A similar craze peaked during the Gilded Age in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when steel magnate Andrew Carnegie had 60-foot trees transplanted from New York’s forests onto Fifth Avenue.

Today, however, the scale — and the technology — are on another level.

Specialist companies such as Environmental Design and Halka Nurseries, which has its own helipad for clients including Stephen and Daryl Roth, use heavy machinery, hydraulic spades and specialized root-wrapping techniques to move enormous trees.

Transporting these giants, some weighing hundreds of tons, can require special highway permits, road closures and even the temporary removal of telephone lines.

“We are mature people and we don’t plan to live long enough to see saplings grow,” Broadway producer Daryl Roth reportedly said, explaining his decision to purchase dozens of large oaks and linden trees for his East Hampton estate.

Landscape designers say that for the ultra-wealthy, trees have become yet another measure of status, alongside yachts, art collections and luxury real estate.

The competition has essentially been reduced to one question: whose tree is taller — and whose crane is bigger?