Our main arboretum is located about 10 km outside of Umeå city in the small village Baggböle. It is positioned in a scenic landscape right next to the swirling white rapids of the Umeå river. With Baggböle manor in the center, the arboretum occupies a 1 km stretch of the steep slope along the northern shore of the river. The south-facing exposure and the close proximity to the water make the growing conditions very favorable.
In the late 1800s, one of northern Sweden’s biggest sawmill industries was placed in here with Baggböle manor as the head office. Read more about the history of Baggböle here.
From a global perspective, Umeå is situated very far north. The yellow line on the globe above shows where Umeå is located in a northerly direction, i.e. at the 63° latitude. The Baggbölearboret is at 63°N, 20°E. The red line shows roughly the northern limit of possible tree growth (the tree line). North of this line is treeless tundra
With these conditions in mind we do not only just struggle with the climate here in Baggböle. The fertile soil, access to moving water, the southern slope and the proximity to the river, create a very favorable microclimate here in the arboretum. This, in conjunction with changes in the climate, means that we are constantly investigating and experimenting with the trees’ abilities.