Two special saplings which were grown by Aberdeen City Council gardeners as part of project to grow seeds from atomic bomb-damaged trees at Hiroshima are to be turned into bonsai trees.
The nine-year-old ginkgo trees have been given to renowned bonsai specialists Herons Bonsai as a further gesture of peace between the UK and Japan and will be fully grown at the time of the 100th
anniversary of the bombing.
The seeds came to Aberdeen through Mayors for Peace, based in Hiroshima where the first atomic bomb was dropped in 1944 at the end of World War II, as part of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research ‘Green Legacy Hiroshima’ initiative to spread the seeds and saplings worldwide.
The Lord Provost of Aberdeen Dr David Cameron said: “It is very fitting that two of our gingko saplings will be grown into bonsai by one of the most renowned bonsai specialists in the world and we are honoured by this gesture.
“Aberdeen has such strong links with Japan so it is fitting these seeds are being used to grow symbols of hope for peace around the world. It is also fitting the gingko sapling is coming from Aberdeen, which is already noted for its horticultural splendours and won the top prize in Beautiful Scotland in Bloom this year.
“The fact that new life could grow from something so devastating gave people in Hiroshima hope and courage that their lives could go on and we hope the bonsai will continue to give people courage and hope in future years.”
Peter Chan, managing director of Herons Bonsai, said: “The two ginkgo plants are in our safe keeping and I am looking forward to developing them larger to make into bonsai.
“As it's now winter and the trees are dormant there isn’t much to show, but come the spring I will do a YouTube video to show what I propose to do with them.
“The response I have had from those who know about this project is that they are very excited at the idea.”
The seeds sent to Aberdeen came from a 250-year-old ginkgo tree, which stands in Hiroshima’s Shukkei-en Garden – less than a mile from the epicentre of the atomic blast which obliterated the city on August 6 ,1945. The tree survived the explosion and subsequent fires, sprouting new buds from the burnt and distorted trunk, and lives to this day as a lasting reminder of hope and peace.
In 2015, the team of gardeners at Duthie Park successfully germinated six of the seeds, which were sent chilled from Japan to mimic the overwintering which they require before sprouting.
One of the ginkgo trees, which are noted for their beauty, has been planted in one of the city’s parks and is slowly continuing to grow. The tree, which is also known as the maidenhair, is a unique ‘living fossil’ species which can be traced back 270 million years. For centuries it was believed to be extinct until groves of the trees were discovered in central China.
Ginkgos are large trees which can reach heights or 60–100 feet, with leaves which turn bright yellow in autumn. They grow well in urban environments and are hardy, insect-resistant and largely disease-free. They have uses in traditional medicine and as a source of food.
Formed in 1982, Mayors for Peace is a group of cities from around the world which have formally expressed support for the abolition of nuclear weapons. Aberdeen City Council joined the organisation in 2010.