Saving Endangered Native Trees: Balling an Antipolo Tree

A walk on our farm in Montalban shows that the area is simply rich in flora of numerous kinds, including an assortment of native trees that are well worth propagating to repopulate our dwindling forests. One of my favorites is the Antipolo tree (Artocarpus blancoi), with its interesting broad leaves and slender trunk. All the Antipolo trees that I have seen have thinnish trunks, and it amazes me that in the old days these trees were used to make dugout canoes. How do you make one? Well one gets a a huge log and then carves out a boat's hull from it, resulting in a seamless vessel that is made out of one piece. So there must have been really big specimens of this tree long ago.

Another interesting fact about this tree stems (pun intended) from its sap. A farmer weary of maya birds eating up his rice plants in the palayan would collect the sap of this tree and boil it down. The result would be a thick sticky natural glue which the farmer would then onto a dried branch and stick it in the ricefield. The maya birds would alight here, and are held fast by the glue. More maya birds will land on the branch, thinking that it is a good place to hang out with their captive buddies and get trapped as well. Pretty soon the branch bows down with the weight of the birds, and the farmer collects them, and dyes their feathers in different colors, place them in individual cages made from woven bamboo and sell them outside the local church the next day. Kids are fascinated by these colorful birds and then egg their parents to buy them, resulting in additional income for the farmer. I have seen these birds for sale when I was young and often wondered why they were of different hues, and thought of Darwin's travels in the Galapagos where he saw similar birds with different plumage, reinforcing his Evolution Theory. But I digress..

Now back to the trees at the farm. All of them are wildlings, meaning that they just sprouted there through natural dispersion. Many grow too close to other big trees, which will stunt their growth. I have always thought of balling these wayward trees and replanting them, so when my good friend Jojo Gutierrez asked if he can have one of these trees to be planted in his garden, I said well, sure! I looked around and saw a good candidate, around 5+ feet tall, and it was too close to a clump of Giant bamboo which will overrun it in time. So with a bolo, a spade, a pick axe and a sack, I was off to ball this tree.

This specimen as said is a little less than 6 feet tall. For reference, the blade of the machete is 2 feet long. It was on a slight slope, and near a clump of Giant bamboo. The soil was dryish and a bit tough, and if I had a choice I would ball this during the rainy season. But that is months away.























Using a pick axe, I inscribed a rough circle 1 meter in diameter. The intent was to dig a small moat around the tree, hopefully to lift a ball of soil encasing the tree's roots.

The Antipolo's roots have a beautiful shade of red, which makes it easy to identify and differentiate from other roots in the soil.

Using a narrow blade spade, I dug up a trench all along the inscribed circle.

The depth of the ball is now 8 to 10 inches, and I'm calling it quits. It was a hot day, and I perspired like crazy. Hey I should have let my friend dig this up!

Using the shovel as a lever, the ball lifts easily. I was careful to sense for any resistance, as this would mean that the main root is still embedded and that I would have to dig more.There was no need, so I thank the Gods, old and new. I have had enough of digging!

The ball was lifted onto a sack carefully. The roots that you see are not those of the Antipolo, but rather from the neighboring bamboo. This gives us an idea of how extensive the bamboo roots travel underground, holding much soil as it does.

Oh, and I trimmed the ball of soil to a more manageable size. I had to carry this a couple of hundred meters, up a slope and through a fence, where a wheelbarrow was waiting.

At last the plant was on the wheelbarrow. Notice the leaves drooping, as the tree goes through all this trauma.

The ball was bathed in water laced with SuperThrive. This agent yields good results with balled and replanted flora, increasing the survival rate.

The ball was sandwiched between two layers of fine river sand. This loose media is quite good for root development, and is said to be 'cool', temperature-wise, for the plant.

The balled tree, now ready for transport to Manila.

It has been several days since this operation, and the tree is now with my friend. He says that the leaves are still drooped, which is quite normal for balled trees. While the leaves are wilted, they are not dead, and that is a good sign, If I were to do this again, I would wait until the rainy season to do this. Or barring that, I would water the plants well a day or two before I ball them. Watch for updates on this tree, I hope it survives.

UPDATE: The tree has been replanted in my friend's yard, and all the leaves drooped and wilted until they were crackly and brown. But the stem was alive as it did not dry up. Hope springs eternal, and nearly a month later, new buds were growing. Just in time for Easter :)