BUTTER LANE TREE FARM

Butter Lane Tree Farm is a small tree nursery on the East End of Long Island that grows and protects endangered tree species and native trees. We have been a leader in developing protective measures against Beech Leaf Disease. And we have alpacas.

We Have Over 10 Varieties of Beech Trees

FARM HISTORY

In 2015, the Shapiro family bought a property that included a failed tree nursery on a 9-acre agricultural preserve.

They hired a local certified arborist—Brendon Prado (who is also a Fire Chief in the Springs)—to work full time to bring the tree farm back to life. Brendon hired a team of workers and operators to restore the irrigation system, move approximately 100 trees to improve spacing, implement regular pruning, and organically address blights that were attacking some of the trees. Invasive plants were removed, and they increased the number of trees on the farm from 400 to over 1000. Butter Lane Tree Farm now has well over 30 different tree species.

We Have Three Varieties of Gingkos

As part of our efforts, we have worked with the Yale Marsh Botanical Garden and the Cornell Cooperative of Suffolk County to identify and cultivate endangered species of trees and fight diseases that are attacking local trees.

SAVING ENDANGERED TREES

“Climate change is threatening many species of trees, so it is essential to cultivate and relocate specimens, protect biodiversity, and figure out how to help endangered tree species survive in new climates.”

—Kunso Kim, Associate Director of Yale’s Marsh Botanical Garden who works with Butter Lane Tree Farm.

Over the last five years, Butter Lane Tree Farm has worked to develop a list of rare and endangered trees whose threatened status can be protected through greater cultivation in the Northeast. At the moment, we are focused on cultivating the following endangered tree species, which are well-suited to our area but undersupplied:

Ashe Magnolia (Magnolia ashei)

Widely considered the rarest magnolia in North America, the Ashe Magnolia’s natural habitat is limited to threatened areas of the Florida panhandle. It is on Florida’s endangered species list and in need of protection: https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/news/2017/02/23/ufifas-researchers-work-to-solve-mystery-of-rare-florida-tree/

Because of climate change, Ashe Magnolias can now live and thrive in the Northeast. Butter Lane Farm has three specimens on our property.

Ashe Magnolia Photo Taken June 6, 2023

In an exciting development, after several years of attempting to collect viable seed from Butter Lane Farm’s Ashe Magnolia trees, the Farm has the first collection we believe suitable for propagation.

Ashe Magnolia Seed Photo Taken October 4, 2023

Dawn Redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides) – IUCN Red List Endangered

The Dawn Redwood is a living fossil. It was identified in 1941 based on fossils that were over 150 million years old. There were no known living specimens at the time. Later in the 1940s some living specimens were found in China and understood to match the old fossils. Dawn Redwoods are endangered in the wild. They are cultivated successfully in the US, UK, and China. Butter Lane Farm has five healthy mature specimens and a larger number of smaller specimens.

Dawn Redwoods at Butter Lane Tree Farm

Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) – IUCN Red List Endangered

Redwoods (aka Coast Redwoods) are among the tallest and fastest growing trees on Earth. Our farm has five thriving specimens of approximately 5-6 feet in height that were grown from cuttings, as well approximately 20 smaller specimens. These endangered trees have been found to adapt to habitats as diverse as Scotland and New Zealand. We also have seedlings of the Redwood’s cousin, the Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum).

Coast Redwoods at Butter Lane Tree Farm

Cedar of Lebanon (Cedrus libani) – IUCN Red List Vulnerable

Cedar of Lebanon is one of the world’s most beautiful trees. They were used as a centerpiece in the work of Beatrix Farrand, who is considered by many to be the most important landscape architect in US history. Our farm has three small specimens. This tree is beautiful, slow-growing, and nearly impossible to source on Long Island.

Monkey Puzzle (Araucaria Araucana) – IUCN Red List Endangered

A truly unique tree and another living fossil. The Farm planted one Monkey Puzzle in 2016 that grew vigorously despite a variety of fungus and insect attacks, but unfortunately succumbed this year. The farm will try again with better drainage and wind protection.

Monkey Puzzle at Butter Lane Tree Farm

Wollemi Pine (Wollemia nobilis) – IUCN Red List Critically Endangered

One of the rarest trees in the world. The Farm cooperated in a research effort with the Yale Botanical Garden to attempt propagation from cuttings off two specimens, one held at the Yale greenhouses and one at Butter Lane Farm. It is theorized that the Hamptons environment is now suitable for this rare tree. Unfortunately, the experiments failed but we plan to try again.

Wollemi Pine at Butter Lane Tree Farm

NATIVE TREES

“What started out as a project has turned into a passion”

—Adam Shapiro, who owns the farm with his family.

With the spread of Beech Leaf Disease, it is more important than ever to find native, disease-resistant alternatives to the Beech Tree for landscape use in our area. We have planted native Hickory, Dogwood, White Pine, Black Cherry, and Sourwood. But we have had most success with Tulip Poplars (Liriodendron tulipifera), which we believe are underutilized in local landscapes.

ALPACAS AND MORE

"It has been exciting to develop a model of regenerative agriculture on Butter Lane Tree Farm. We use the grass clippings to fertilize the soil, the alpaca manure to fertilize the trees, wood chippings to protect new seedlings, and the open field supports the pollinators.”

—Brendon Prado, Arborist and Agronomist who runs Butter Lane Tree Farm

The farm has 4 alpacas, which provide healthy odorless fertilizer for the trees, and 14 chickens.

Alpacas in Their Pen

We make blankets.

3 of Our 4 Alpacas Contributed to This Blanket

We grow lots of fruit.

Apples

Peaches

We established and maintain two bee hives and harvested honey this year for the first time. The bees improve pollination on our property and in the surrounding areas.

Our First Honey

BUTTER LANE FARM: THE FUTURE

To further our efforts to grow our tree farm and cultivate endangered specimens, we proposed in 2018 to build a beautiful greenhouse for trees.

It included sophisticated heating and cooling plans designed by engineering firm Transsolar.

In addition to the greenhouse, we proposed last year three small animal shelters for our alpacas and chickens, three small storage structures for farm equipment and feed, and a bathroom for workers.

The total proposed lot coverage is under 5,000 square feet, which is just a bit over 1% of our 394,379 square foot property.

APPROVALS

Our tree farm is subject to a provision that any agricultural structures be placed in a specific area on the West side of our property, which can be seen here:

As with many projects in the Hamptons, our farm’s neighbors have had opinions about our plans, especially those neighbors with property adjacent to the red area above.

Since making our original proposal six years ago, we’ve tried to address neighbor concerns by moving the greenhouse twice towards the East.

More recently, in August 2023, we submitted a proposal to the Town Planning Board seeking a move that the neighbors had asked for, which is to move the area for agricultural structures towards the middle of the property.

The new area for agricultural structures would be the green area below:

We were disappointed that the adjacent neighbors chose to oppose this move that they had previously asked for.

While we wait for the Planning Board’s decision, we remain excited to continue to work on our farm and to progress in cultivating a growing variety of rare and endangered trees.

CONTACT

We’d love to hear from you. Please send us an email at info@butterlane.org.

Note we sell to the trade only.