The famous and beloved fig tree to which the Orihuela universal poet referred in his poems – “you will return to my house and my fig tree”-, the tree under which he sat to write much of his work, one of the most famous elements that can be seen in his House Museum, is dying. Experts say that the 100-year-old tree has entered it’s final cycle of life and has just 10 years of expectancy remaining.
Tomás Serna, director of the House Museum, said that it is now a case of applying palliative care to slow down the deterioration process, so that the tree does not bear fruit and critical pruning controls are carried out.
In addition, a second restoration of its trunk is planned, cleaning it and filling it with resin, so that it is not affected by insects, pests or moisture.
“This restoration process, as if it were a figure sculpted by the 18th century, Salzillo, will extend its life,” explains Serna, who added that of the three fig trees that can be seen in the house only this one was planted by his family, by the poet’s father, with the other two planted by the Council.
Cuttings have also been taken and are being reproduced at the Higher Polytechnic School of the city, in order to preserve what little remains of Miguel Hernández’s legacy in Orihuela
It’s difficult to tell the exact age of the tree. Miguel also wrote of it in a letter from the Torrijos prison.
Martínez Tomé, the newly appointed director of the Higher Polytechnic School of the Miguel Hernández University, says that according to some calculations it could be close to 120 years old, and could stay alive for another decade.
Many cuttings have been taken in recent years, some of which can be seen in the Cervantes Institute in Madrid, the Alhambra in Granada and in the National Library. The most recent request has come from Torrepacheco, in the Region of Murcia, which has asked for a “cutting” to plant it in a garden named after Miguel Hernández. “We also wanted to put a cutting in the Orihuela Town Hall and in the railway station”, as well as to create a cultural prize whose gift is a live fig tree, said Martínez Tomé.
The museum has documented the plants that the poet most cited in his verses and has planted them in the house to oxygenate the earth: “And how good is the land of my garden!”, said Miguel in “My garden”. Parsley, roses, carnations, geraniums, rosemary, lavender, jasmine, a vine… so that, in addition, everything in the House Museum has a meaning.
