Our History | Behunin Tree Services & Horticulture

A Utah Family Tradition Built Around Trees, Horticulture and the Landscape

Behunin Tree was founded as a professional tree and horticultural company in 1943 by Joseph Leland “J. Leland” Behunin. But the Behunin family’s documented involvement with trees, orchards, irrigation and horticulture reaches much further back—into Utah’s pioneer era of the 1860s.

That distinction is important.

Behunin Tree has been in business since 1943. The Behunin family’s documented horticultural roots in Utah extend back more than 160 years.

The historical record shows a remarkable progression: pioneer-era orchards and irrigation, commercial fruit production, orchard pest management, county horticultural inspection, formal tree-surgery education, professional arboriculture and, ultimately, the Behunin Tree company Utah knows today.

The 1860s — Isaac Behunin and the Family’s Utah Horticultural Roots

The documented story begins with Utah pioneer Isaac Behunin.

Historical records place Isaac and his family in southern Utah during the early settlement of Zion Canyon. In the summer of 1863, the Behunins began developing land near what is now Zion Lodge.

A history preserved by the University of Utah’s J. Willard Marriott Digital Library describes the family constructing a log cabin, clearing the flats and digging an irrigation ditch. By the following growing season, several acres were under cultivation and fruit trees, cane and garden crops had been planted.

This establishes documented Behunin family involvement with fruit trees, irrigation and cultivated landscapes by approximately 1863–1864.

Isaac’s son Mosiah Stephen Behunin was part of the family during this period. The Church History Biographical Database independently identifies Mosiah Stephen Behunin as a son of Isaac Behunin and later records his death in Ferron, Emery County, Utah.

The family’s horticultural connection would continue there through later generations.

Verification:
University of Utah — Settlement of Zion Canyon
Church History Biographical Database — Isaac Behunin
Church History Biographical Database — Mosiah Stephen Behunin

Joseph Henry Behunin — Orchards, Horticultural Education and Community Service

A later generation brought the Behunin family’s horticultural work into a more formal and commercial setting.

Joseph Henry Behunin, born in 1872, established his family in Ferron, Utah. His life and work are described extensively in a family history preserved by the Emery County Archives, including an account written by his daughter, Vera B. Hansen.

Hansen recalled that her father attended the Agricultural College in Logan, now Utah State University, for approximately a year and had learned extensively about trees and dairying.

She described him planting a family orchard containing apples, peaches, plums, pears and apricots. Joseph later planted many additional trees, and the orchard produced income for the family for years.

The family history also describes the practical landscape-management methods being used at the time. Joseph irrigated the trees, plowed irrigation ditches near them and managed the orchard as part of a working agricultural property.

This was not simply an interest in trees. Horticulture had become part of the family’s livelihood.

Verification:
Emery County Archives — Memories of Mary and Joseph Behunin

Teaching Farmers About Orchard Health

Joseph Henry’s horticultural work extended beyond his own orchard.

His daughter’s account records him teaching area farmers about the relationship between moths and worm-damaged apples. He explained the importance of properly timed spraying so growers could produce fruit suitable for market.

He then helped local farmers find markets for their fruit.

The surviving history even describes Joseph marketing approximately a railroad carload of fruit for area growers. Because Ferron lacked a rail connection, the fruit had to be hauled by wagon approximately 47 miles to Price before it could be shipped.

These records portray Joseph Henry Behunin not merely as an orchard owner, but as someone engaged in orchard management, pest management, grower education and commercial horticulture.

Verification:
Emery County Archives — Joseph Behunin family history, including orchard and inspector accounts

1909 — Joseph Henry Behunin Serves as Emery County Inspector

One of the strongest documents in the Behunin family history comes directly from Emery County government records.

Joseph Henry’s daughter recalled her father serving as a tree inspector and traveling to Chicago for a convention of tree inspectors.

The official Emery County Commission minutes independently confirm his government appointment.

On May 3, 1909, the Emery County Commission recorded that Utah’s new horticultural law required the county inspector and deputy tree inspectors to be reappointed.

The original record names:

“J.H. Behunin — County Inspector.”

The same county records also contain payments to J.H. Behunin for Fruit Tree Inspector’s expenses, providing additional confirmation of his work within Emery County’s horticultural inspection system.

For historical accuracy, Behunin Tree does not currently describe Joseph Henry as Emery County’s first-ever tree inspector. Although that wording appears in the family history, the county records show another fruit-tree inspector serving earlier.

What the original government records establish conclusively is this:

Joseph Henry Behunin was serving Emery County as its County Inspector under Utah’s horticultural system in 1909.

That gives the Behunin family documented professional involvement in public horticulture and tree inspection more than three decades before Behunin Horticulture was formally established.

Verification:
Emery County Commission Minutes, April 1907–April 1910

The May 3, 1909 original record specifically shows the new horticultural-law appointments and identifies J.H. Behunin as County Inspector. The county claims records also identify his Fruit Tree Inspector expenses.

J. Leland Behunin — Professional Tree-Surgery Training

Joseph Henry’s son, Joseph Leland Behunin, carried the family tradition into professional arboriculture.

J. Leland Behunin was born in Ferron in 1901. His 1993 Deseret News obituary records that he attended Brigham Young University and graduated from the Davey Institute of Tree Surgery. The obituary describes him as a respected Salt Lake Valley tree specialist and landscape contractor for more than three decades.

A later Deseret News historical account provides additional detail. After serving a mission, Leland studied for four years at the Davey Institute of Tree Surgery in Kent, Ohio, specializing in arbor care, and then spent another four years working there.

This represented an important development in the Behunin family history.

The practical experience of earlier generations with orchards, irrigation, tree health and horticulture was joined by formal professional education in tree surgery and arbor care.

Verification:
Deseret News — Joseph Leland Behunin obituary, 1993
Deseret News — Season of Sparkle: How Christmas Lights Came to Temple Square

1943 — Behunin Horticulture Is Founded

In 1943, J. Leland Behunin established Behunin Horticulture, the company that would become today’s Behunin Tree.

The founding date is independently documented by both KSL and the Deseret News.

KSL’s historical profile states that J. Leland Behunin founded Behunin Horticulture in 1943 and that later generations continued the family company.

The Deseret News likewise reports that Leland established Behunin Horticulture in 1943 and began caring for trees and landscapes along the Wasatch Front, including Temple Square.

This is why Behunin Tree carefully distinguishes between two parts of its history:

Behunin Tree was founded as a business in 1943.

The Behunin family’s documented horticultural history in Utah reaches back to the 1860s.

Verification:
KSL — Behunin Horticulture, 2009
Deseret News — History of J. Leland Behunin and Behunin Horticulture

1965 — Helping Create the Temple Square Christmas-Lighting Tradition

One of the best-documented chapters in Behunin history began in 1965.

At the time, putting Christmas lights into the large living trees at Temple Square raised horticultural concerns. According to the Deseret News historical account, Temple Square head gardener Irvin T. Nelson worried that heat from the lights might cause the trees to break dormancy prematurely.

Arborist J. Leland Behunin believed the lighting could be installed without harming the trees.

After discussing the issue, Church President David O. McKay approved the project and placed Behunin in charge of overseeing it.

J. Leland and later members of the Behunin family developed methods for installing the lights in Temple Square’s large trees, helping establish what became one of Utah’s best-known Christmas traditions.

The historical account describes the difficulties of those early installations, including limited equipment and electrical capacity. Over time, the techniques improved, and the Behunin family continued its involvement for years.

For Behunin Tree, the significance of Temple Square extends beyond Christmas lighting. The project brought together arboriculture, tree physiology, access, pruning, landscape care and large-tree management—disciplines that remain central to professional tree care today.

Verification:
Deseret News — Season of Sparkle: How Christmas Lights Came to Temple Square

Continuing the Family Business

The company continued into succeeding generations.

KSL reported in 2009 that later generations of Behunins had continued J. Leland’s horticultural company, expanding its services beyond arbor care into landscape design, installation, maintenance and holiday lighting.

In 2008, another documented Behunin project became part of Utah history when Behunin Horticulture planted a 12-foot blue spruce on the Utah State Capitol grounds. The tree was intended to serve as a permanent state Christmas tree rather than repeatedly bringing a cut tree into the newly renovated Capitol.

The Deseret News photographed and reported members of the Behunin family planting the tree.

In 2026, City Journals profiled Behunin Tree and reported that family members representing four generations of company operation remained connected with the business more than eight decades after J. Leland established it.

Verification:
Deseret News — Behunin Horticulture plants the Utah Capitol Christmas tree, 2008
City Journals — Behunin Tree history, 2026

The Behunin Tree Story Today

The Behunin story is not simply about how long one company has existed.

It is a documented progression of knowledge passed through generations:

1860s: Isaac Behunin and his family cultivate irrigated land and plant fruit trees in southern Utah.
Early 1900s: Joseph Henry Behunin develops orchards, teaches growers about orchard pest management, helps market local fruit and serves as an Emery County horticultural/tree inspector.
1920s and 1930s: J. Leland Behunin receives formal professional training at the Davey Institute of Tree Surgery.
1943: J. Leland establishes Behunin Horticulture.
1965: J. Leland helps pioneer the Christmas lighting of Temple Square’s living trees.
Later generations: The family continues professional tree care, horticulture and landscape work throughout Utah.
Today: Behunin Tree continues that tradition while combining generations of practical experience with modern arboriculture, horticulture, plant health care and landscape management.

That history is why we use the statement:

Behunin Tree — Founded in 1943. Rooted in more than 160 years of Behunin family horticultural history in Utah.

The company did not exist in the 1860s, and we do not claim that it did.

What the historical record demonstrates is something different—and, we believe, more meaningful: trees, horticulture, irrigation and landscape stewardship have been part of the Behunin family story in Utah for more than a century and a half.

Historical Sources & Verification

Put Our Experience to Work for Your Trees

Contact Behunin Tree to learn more about our tree and landscape services.

Founded in 1943. Rooted in More Than 160 Years of Utah Horticultural History.