The large Red Cedar tree in a field on Cedartown Road is on its way to the Georgia state capitol where workers are waiting to decorate it for Christmas.

It took more than two hours to get the tree out of the ground and onto a transporter provided by the Georgia Forestry Commission.

A giant hydraulic spade was brought in for the digging job and a crane was used to move the tree from a smaller truck, which carried it from a dense part of the field, to a transporter.

The tree, which workers estimate was around 15 years old, had to be dug up rather than cut and must remain live and potted while in the capitol, according to building and fire codes.

Staffers from the Georgia Building Authority were also on hand to oversee the task. They will be responsible for getting the tree into the Capitol and decorating it.

State workers will be back in Polk County Wednesday to pick up another tree for the holidays. That one, which will be cut, will grace the Governor’s Mansion.