The new, 35-foot-tall live oak trees

have officially arrived to the Plains.

Auburn University will plant the two trees on Saturday, concluding a year-long process of searching for and selecting the right trees to replace the iconic live oaks that once stood at Toomer's Corner.

The new oaks were chosen in June of last year from more than 9,000 trees in an oak grove in South Carolina. While the college originally selected five for consideration, Auburn Professor of Horticulture Gary Keever said the school narrowed it down to three trees based on how well they withstood the pruning process in addition to other predetermined standards.

"We had certain criteria we wanted for the trees," said Keever. "We wanted the lowest branches to be above head height, and we wanted to have trees that would be difficult for fans to climb. We were also looking at some traffic concerns with the branches."

In addition to the two live oaks that will replace the original trees at Toomer's Corner, the university also purchased a third tree of the same height from the grove. This tree, which will be planted outside the Facilities Management Complex, will essentially serve as a spare in case an issue with one of the others arises.

"There is a lot of risk in planting a large tree," said Mike Clardy, Auburn director of communications. "Our folks had the forethought that, in case one doesn't survive, we'll have another tree available on campus. Hopefully we will never have to use it."

Clardy said the university is hoping for a large turnout for Saturday's planting event, which is open to the public and expected to run into the afternoon. The new, live oak trees will arrive at Toomer's Corner via flatbed trailer between 7:30 a.m. and 8 a.m., and the process should take between four and six hours.

During that time, the university will close several downtown streets and set up a viewing area so fans can look on as the new Auburn Oaks are planted at the intersection. However, the university is asking fans not to roll the two trees until fall 2016 as they establish roots and acclimate to their new environment.

"We are hoping for a similar size crowd to when we removed the trees two years ago," said Clardy. "I know there is a lot of excitement about it. We've been getting a lot of e-mails and phone calls building up to this so we are hoping for a big crowd."