Memorial Tree for Guitarist George Harrison Dies

A pine tree planted in memory of Beatles guitarist George Harrison has died, after becoming infested by beetles.

The sapling was planted in 2004 near the observatory in Griffith Park, Los Angeles.

The music legend, who died in November 2001, aged 58, from lung cancer, spent his final days in the city and was a keen gardener.

Council officer Tom LaBonge told the LA Times the memorial had grown to more than 10 feet tall in 2013, but the bark beetle attack had overwhelmed it.

The culprits are common in the city and regularly feed on pine trees and lay eggs under the bark.

Mr LaBonge said a new tree would be planted at a date yet to be decided.

A small plaque at the base of the pine read: “In memory of a great humanitarian who touched the world as an artist, a musician and a gardener.”

It also quotes the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who achieved fame as the guru to the Beatles: “For the forests to be green, each tree must be green.”

Harrison’s relationship with bandmates John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, was fractious at times.

The singer-songwriter said his first big break was being in The Beatles, and his next was getting out of the group.

Harrison was cremated at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery and his ashes scattered in the Ganges and Yamuna Rivers near Varanasi, India.