THE ancient banyan trees in Sports Road, which have been shorn in preparation for a transplant, are unlikely to recover their former majesty, a tree expert warned.
The wide, bushy branches and long aerial roots of the 140-year-old trees have been cut back to such an extent that their systems may be too shocked to ever recover fully, Dr Jim Chi-yung of Hong Kong University said.
The trees will be moved in January to make way for the Jockey Club's expansion of the Happy Valley racecourse, after environmentalists objected to chopping them down.
Branch and root trimming and other preparatory work began in the spring of last year and the whole operation is expected to cost at least $1 million.
But Dr Jim, a recognised tree expert and consultant who has published several books on Hong Kong trees, is pessimistic the experiment will work.
Banyans have been moved before but never with trees this old, and the speedy timetable further reduced the chances of success, he said.