Like many transplants - Rubi recently traveled thousands of miles to come live in the Emerald City. She spent over a week making the trip from her home in Somis, CA to her new digs in Seattle - specifically the South Lake Union neighborhood.
It's a tough journey for anyone, but when you're 55 feet tall, 22 feet wide and weigh 36,000 pounds - it's even more of a production.
Oh - didn't we mention? Rubi is a Ficus rubiginosa, and will be the main inhabitant of the new Amazon Spheres.
After multiple delays throughout her journey, Rubi was finally lowered into her home sphere June 20, 2017. She was first planted in 1969 at the Berylwood Tree Farm in Somis by its founder, the late Rolla Wilhite. A respected horticulturist and landscape architect pioneer, Wilhite purveyed distinctive field-grown trees to hundreds of projects worldwide.
But don't worry! Rubi won't be alone. Five other trees planted in a similar manner will join her throughout the summer.
The Amazon Spheres are slated to open in early 2018, are designed to be a place where employees can think and work differently in an environment that more closely resembles a park than an office. They'll have tree house meeting rooms, river and waterfall features, a green bird’s nest conference room, environmental fogging, and a four-story living wall.
Welcome to our city, Rubi!
