October 4 Party — Happy Birthday to the ALA!
On October 4th, 2025, the Concordia Tree Team will throw a party to recognize the 20th anniversary of the Ainsworth Linear Arboretum (ALA).
Come celebrate with us!
October 4, 10AM - Tree Planting
21st and Ainsworth median (across from Alberta Park):
Kick off the celebration with a memorial tree planting of a Torrey Pine. The tree will be placed in the median next to other special trees from past Arboretum plantings.
October is the traditional “Arbor Month” and the best time to plant trees.
Welcome remarks from city officials Elana Pirtle-Guiney and Marissa Richerson, as well as Ainsworth neighbors.
~10:30AM — Parade
21st and Ainsworth — 30th and Ainsworth
There will be a parade! We will walk through the medians and sidewalks (dogs, strollers, and costumes welcome) to KISS coffee on 30th and Ainsworth.
10:45AM-12:00PM — Cake and Celebrate
The Concordia Tree Team and KISS coffee are hosting a party.
There will be free cake and a celebration for the ALA.
Just want to learn about the trees? Start early! 9AM — MLK and Ainsworth
There will be a tree walk with Jim Gersbach prior to the celebration starting at 9 AM.
Meet in front of Walgreens on MLK/Ainsworth.
Contact us with questions or ideas>>
Tell me more about the memorial tree planting!
By Jim Gersbach
That median block of the Ainsworth Linear Arboretum is serving as a showcase of conifers from around the world that can grow in Oregon, so naturally we wanted to plant another conifer. Jim Gersbach obtained a conifer from Cistus Nursery on Sauvie Island: a Torrey pine.
Pinus torreyana is native to only a tiny bit of coastal southern California and one offshore island. Although kept short and twisted along the seashore, when grown inland the species grows taller and straighter, reaching 60' to as much as 100 feet in height— equivalent to a ponderosa pine.
The attribute that is especially interesting to us is its drought and heat tolerance since we are all looking for climate-resilient trees. Our hope is that after establishment watering it might be able to survive with no or very little supplemental watering.
Although native to California, Torrey pine is hardy to USDA Zone 8, which is the same growing zone as Portland. It should do well here.
Torrey pine is also the rarest pine in North America, with only 9,000 individual trees growing in the wild. Planting it ex situ helps in the preservation of the species.
Link in the Gymnosperm Database: https://www.conifers.org/pi/Pinus_torreyana_insularis.php
US Forest Service information sheet on it: https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/tree/pintor/all.html
Torrey Pines
Sourced at the National Park Service, Channel Islands National Park — all about Torrey Pines: https://www.nps.gov/places/000/torrey-pines.htm
Tim Hauf, timhaufphotography.com
