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Here are more nerdy details on the plant: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/industry/forestry/managing-our-forest-resources/silviculture/tree-species-selection/tree-species-compendium-index/arbutus
this post was submitted on 30 Jun 2023
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I think it's a common municipal bylaw for communities on Vancouver Island that every second business has be named "Arbutus" something.
But seriously, it's a really neat tree, plus the wood is a gorgeous red. An uncle made a crib out of an arbutus on his property that got felled. It's absolutely gorgeous. It's not a very straight tree though, so I don't know of any large commercial use, so no Arbutus panelling, floors, banisters, etc. unless you happen to know someone with the ability to do it from scratch.
They look great, especially when mature. They still make a bit of a mess, since they shed their bark rather than their leaves. I guess it's also a pretty weird tree.
On top of it being really gnarly wood to work with, they also don't transplant very well. Because of both of these factors, it will likely never be commercially harvested, just BC's weird wild tree. I love the way parts of it can die off, and new wood just grows around it like putty.
There's ways that the wood can be tamed for woodwork, but it borders on alchemy.
We were lucky to manage to get one to take at the back of our yard, it's lasted 6 years so far... slow-growing for sure.