Haacht (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – At Wespelaar Arboretum in Haacht, staff are moving an oak to protect a rare horse chestnut. Camelbeke oversees the relocation. The arboretum spans 20 hectares and reopens on April 1, 2026.
As VRT News reported, at the Wespelaar Arboretum in Haacht, in the province of Flemish Brabant, Belgium, staff are moving an oak tree because it has grown too close to a rare horse chestnut.
“It doesn’t grow anywhere else in Belgium and is known from only a few collections in England, where the climate is different,”
says Camelbeke.
Why is Wespelaar Arboretum moving an oak to protect a Rare Chestnut?
Experts say the relocation is necessary to protect the chestnut, which is one of the most unusual and valuable specimens in the arboretum. Even minor changes in soil, sunlight, or root space could harm the tree.
“We have little experience with it, and had planted the tree in a sheltered spot. But now it turns out the horse chestnut is doing very well and has grown enormously,”
adds the director.
“But because of that, it’s now too close to an oak, and the two trees are competing with each other.”
According to officials, the Wespelaar Arboretum, covering about 20 hectares, is known for its wide variety of trees and plants from across the world. It is especially famous for its magnolias and rhododendrons, which bloom in large numbers each spring.
The oak tree at the Wespelaar Arboretum is being moved to protect a rare horse chestnut.
“That’s no small feat,”
said Camelbeke, one of the specialists handling the relocation. Staff must carefully move the tree to avoid harming it or the chestnut nearby.
Camelbeke said,
“We’ve been preparing the oak for this for several years by cutting the clump underground. We’ll actually transplant the tree soon. It’s been a dry year, so we can get onto the site with heavier machinery without causing too much damage.”
The Wespelaar Arboretum is now closed for the winter season while the relocation takes place. Visitors who want to see the gardens, which feature plants and trees from around the world, including prized magnolias and rhododendrons, will need to wait until spring. The arboretum will reopen on April 1, 2026, and will be open every Wednesday and Sunday.
The Wespelaar Arboretum in Haacht, Belgium, was established in 1985 for the purpose of propagating rare and exotic tree species. Over the course of the 1980s and 1990s, the arboretum has dramatically expanded its collections with tree species from Europe, Asia, and North America.
By the early 2000s, the arboretum became well-known for its magnolias and rhododendrons, both of which bloom in the spring season. In 2010, the site began to shift its focus to conserving endangered plant species.
