Expert Tree Mover Gives Poway a Hand in Transplanting Old, Giant Sycamores

Steve Nagymarosi of Poway has the strong, callused hands of a man who has spent decades working with earth and trees.

They are the hands of a man who has transplanted hundreds of mature trees around Southern California.

Using a 100-foot crane Monday, Nagymarosi moved two California sycamores with branches that span 90 feet as part of a Poway redevelopment.

Those working on the project believe the trees are among the largest ever transplanted in the world. The trees were moved bare root rather than with the roots boxed.

The trees were moved to make way for the widening and deepening of Poway Creek for flood control, said Pamela Colby, a management analyst with the city who has been working on the project.

Part of the redevelopment plan includes the construction of 65 pre-manufactured homes in an area near Midland and Poway roads. The creek runs just behind a trailer park. The homes are expected to provide affordable housing.

As a result of citizen concerns, the city decided to save the trees by digging them, moving them and then incorporating them into the new development’s design. It was then the city called in Nagymarosi.

Nagymarosi, who has worked on construction projects such as the Manhattan Village Center in Manhattan Beach, Sycamore Court in La Jolla and several others, does not expect the trees to experience any side effects from the move. He said that, by February or March, the trees should have new leaves. “If I didn’t believe it could be done I wouldn’t move it,” he said.

In preparing the trees for the move, he discovered that one of the larger ones had been damaged by disease. Inserting a 15-foot steel rod and cement mixture into the tree’s trunk, Nagymarosi has apparently saved the tree and will be working to perform a little reconstructive surgery on it to hide the damaged area.

As a result of all this work, Nagymarosi is being called “Doctor Steve” by some people in Poway.

Nagymarosi, a native of Hungary, describes himself as a “horticulturist and landscape architect by trade.” He has worked on numerous projects using large trees as part of the landscape to create the feeling that the new buildings have existed for some time, he said.

Nagymarosi said he does not have any particular kind of tree that he prefers to work with. “I like all trees, I like big trees,” he said.

Working with those trees gives him a feeling of satisfaction.

“This morning there was a big hole and now there is a 100-year-old tree,” he said.

Gary Hoyt, landscape architect with the city of Poway, said the California sycamores that were moved could range in age from 60 to 100 years. He said some of the largest are about 40 feet tall with trunks 3 feet in diameter at their widest.

Also moved were pepper trees that he estimated to be 60 to 70 years old. Those are 30 to 40 feet high and can have trunks up to 6 feet in diameter.

Hoyt said the trees were dug up a little more than a week ago but have been kept alive using a mist irrigation system.

Once the trees are all in place and the project is completed, the whole plan will have an “instant effect,” he said.

“For the new residents, it is going to be like their home has been there for quite a while,” he said.

Nagymarosi began to work with plants and trees while he was still in his native Hungary. The first time he worked with a tree was when he was 6, he said.

“I grafted an apple tree, and my dog ate the first apple,” he said. “I really cried.”