Page 63 - Free State Winter 2022 - Website Version

GROWING WITH EDUCATION A Ginny Rosenkranz

Giants in our Landscapes

Part II

Part I ran in the summer issue of Free State.

Each state has the opportunity to claim a County, State and Carpinus caroliniana or the American Hornbeam, sometimes
National Champion tree. Over the years, a County champion called the Blue Beech. Is a native Champion deciduous,
could grow to become a State or even a National Champion. medium to small sized tree that grows 20-30 feet tall and
Depending on the County, the list of trees is updated as some wide. This Champion tree just reached its title and can be
trees succumb to the sands of time and have to be removed, found across the street from the Union Garage. The American
while others continue to grow and reach new heights and Hornbeam is a slow grower and prefers to live in rich, slightly
branch spread and become a listed Champion. This year acidic soils that are moist but well drained. It can grow in full
the University of Maryland Arboretum has listed 16 county sun but performs beautifully as an understory tree in full to
Champion trees on its campus and 4 are natives. partial shade. Plants are cold hardy in USDA zones 3-9, and
can tolerate alkaline soils, frequent flooding, and has been
Aesculus pavia or the Red Buckeye is a deciduous large shrub
or small tree in the Buckeye and Horsechestnut family. The successfully planted in urban settings like shopping mall
Champion tree is located on the University of Maryland islands. The trunk is smooth blueish gray in color, smooth,
campus by the Benjamin Building. They are cold hardy from sinewy and fluted, giving the tree another common name of
USDA zones 4-8 and thrive in full to part sun in moist, well- Ironwood. The leaves are simple, starting out bronze-purple
drained soils. They have large, dark green 5-7 leaflets in a in color, maturing to dark lustrous green and 2-5 inches long.
palmately compound leaf. The leaves are arranged opposite In autumn, the leaves change to colorful yellow, orange, red
of each other on olive brown stems. Light brown raised and reddish purple before dropping. Springtime brings the
lenticels scatter like stars on the stems, and the triangular male and female catkins, and the female flowers become
bud scars look like a shield with a distinctive ‘V’ arrangement (continued on next page)
of leaf traces. The leaves emerge early in the spring, even
before the Maples and Oaks, and the silhouette of the crown
is rounded but irregular. The brilliant red to orange-red tubular
flowers are stacked on a 4-10 inch upright panicle, looking like
a bright red candle. The flowers are 1 ½ inches long, composed
of 4-5 petals and become magnets to the ruby-throated
hummingbirds, who time their arrival to Maryland when the
Red Buckeyes are in bloom. In August, the leaves begin to
decline and fade out by autumn without any color change.
The 1-3 seeds are held in a shiny light brown capsule and are
ripe by October. The seeds are poisonous and wildlife does
not touch them. Not all Champion trees are huge, and the
Red Buckeye is an excellent example of a small tree, reaching
only a height of 10-20 feet. The National Champion is in St.
Louis, Missouri and tops at 48 feet tall, 37 feet wide. Scorch
on the leaves can occur when grown in full sun with dry soil.
The fungal Guignardia leaf blotch can also be problematic,
causing red-brown spots with a yellow margin. This fungus
is active during wet weather and often causes only aesthetic
damage. Plants can be showcased as a specimen or as a
colorful flowering screen.
Acer-buergerianum
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