Decorator Lee Poll purchased six gross orders of artificial magnolia blossoms which the greens department tied to all the location magnolia trees' umbrella heads. Producer Ray Stark and director Herbert Ross never spared expenses in their filming plans for the Natchitoches "Steel Magnolias" location filming. During a preliminary location scout with production designer Gene Callahan, Ross declared "we need more old oak shade trees planted to shade our lady actors!" The production designer returned to the art department, announcing "Herbert needs some oak trees planted in Truvy's yard. About six! Order them!" Gene's art director Hub Braden began the search for "old oak trees" with enough top shape to shade the entire location house for Truvy's exterior beauty shop side yard. After a week, Braden reported finding the trees was an easy job, a source in Atlanta, Georgia. Discovering another nursery tree source located near Dallas, Texas, that had the six "old oak trees" costing $35,000 each, guaranteed by the nursery to survive the move and transplanting. Transporting the trees for transplanting was easy, which included highway permits from both Texas and Louisiana State highway divisions. Oak trees have a life cycle of nine hundred years; three hundred years of growth, three hundred years dormancy, the final three hundred years to die. The movie's production offices had taken over the University's grammar school facility, with producer Ray Stark using the Principal's office as his office. Stark, completely aware of Herbert's demand for shade trees, was with Herbert in his production office when Gene joined their private conference meeting, discussing filming plans including the shade tree request. In exasperation, Gene yelled, "You both are just plain CRAZY" and departed their meeting. Returning to the art department office, Gene had decided, announcing, "Kill the six three-hundred-year-old oak trees."

Film

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