Auburn’s iconic Toomer’s oaks live on—15 years after the poisoning

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For generations, rolling the oaks at Toomer’s Corner has been Auburn’s signature celebration move. Win a football game? Roll the trees. Win a big basketball game? Roll the trees. Big life moment? Honestly…roll the trees.

So when the now-infamous phone call aired on The Paul Finebaum Show in 2011 revealing the trees had been poisoned, it felt personal.

Fifteen years later, it’s a story not only about rivalry, but about the work that helped carry one of Auburn’s most beloved traditions forward. We headed to the Plains to talk with Auburn College of Agriculture‘s staff about how the university responded, and how the legacy of the original oaks is still growing today.

Reflecting on 15 years of Toomer’s tree recovery

If you were a sports fan, college student or even stepped in the state of Alabama in 2011, you probably know the story: An Alabama fan calling himself “Al from Dadeville” called into The Paul Finebaum Show claiming he had poisoned Auburn’s iconic Toomer’s Oaks with Spike 80DF, a nonselective herbicide.

Dr. Gary Keever, then a faculty member in the Department of Horticulture at Auburn University, got the call no one ever wants to receive about two 85-year-old campus icons.

“He said the Auburn fans weren’t going to be celebrating around the Toomer’s trees so much longer…because they’re going to die.”

Dr. Gary Keever, retired faculty member in the Department of Horticulture, Auburn University

The next morning, Keever and colleagues were at Toomer’s Corner collecting soil samples. Spike 80DF, he explained, disrupts photosynthesis. No photosynthesis means no food. No food means the tree slowly starves.

Lab tests confirmed what no one wanted to hear: The herbicide levels in the soil were well beyond lethal. Even so, Auburn’s horticulture team did whatever they could to save the trees as the news spread.

“Once it became publicized that the trees had been poisoned, Auburn students and fans began to set up a shrine around the two Toomer’s Oaks. They brought in signage. They brought in flowers, rolls of toilet paper and all kinds of other tributes.”

Dr. Gary Keever, retired faculty member in the Department of Horticulture, Auburn University

Heath Hoffman, now Director of the Paterson Greenhouse Complex, was a graduate student at the time. He remembers the day the original trees were removed.

“I’ve never heard Toomer’s Corner so quiet. It was just like being at a funeral.”

Heath Hoffman, Director of the Paterson Greenhouse Complex, Auburn University

The university sourced large replacement live oaks from nurseries in South Carolina and Florida. Those trees were planted, only to be damaged again in 2016 after toilet paper was set on fire following a game. By 2017, the current trees were established at the corner—another fresh start for a very old tradition.

The new generation of Toomer’s oaks

Using cuttings of the original Toomer’s Oaks, Auburn horticulture staff began propagating clones—exact genetic replicas of the beloved trees.

Each July, Hoffman and his team take semi-hardwood cuttings from stock plants descended from the originals. Using a rooting hormone that mimics auxin, they encourage strong, healthy roots. About 12 weeks later, the young trees are potted into one-gallon containers and offered for sale.

According to Hoffman, the trees are exact genetic copies. In other words: The spirit of Toomer’s can live in backyards across the country.

Hoffman fields four to five calls or emails a week from fans hoping to grow their own piece of Auburn. Some ask about climate, some about care, some just want to tell him where they were when the trees were poisoned.

“People are very interested in planting their own Toomer’s oak trees, and you can imagine how high the demand was after the poisoning and the fire.

Just to be able to connect and talk to Auburn fans from all over the country has been really great—there’s even a Toomer’s oak is growing on the lawn at the US Capitol in Washington, DC.”

Heath Hoffman, Director of the Paterson Greenhouse Complex, Auburn University

Interested in buying your own Toomer’s oak sapling? Trees are on sale now! Learn more here.

Learn more about the Oaks

Check out our video to hear more from Dr. Keever and Heath Hoffman:

 Learn more about where Auburn’s College of Agriculture can take you.

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