Champion Tree

closeup of HOT WINGS (R) Tatarian maple (Acer tataricum ‘Garann’ PP15023)

 What a fall for color! That latest cold snap stripped the glorious gold off many trees, but have you noticed that oaks, mountain ash and various pear trees are still turning deep burgundies and red…the show goes on! And some trees, like this wonderful Plant Select introduction, have been blazing for some time now. Despite its modest size, it is a bona fide champion!

HOT WINGS (R) Tatarian maple (Acer tataricum ‘Garann’ PP15023)

I don’t think this has quite yet made it into the register of the Colorado Tree Coalition champions–it’s only a matter of time. This is not just our local champion but likely the WORLD champion as well, since this is the very tree grown in the fields of Fort Collins Nursery Wholesale, and the source of the initial graft material that now comprises tens of thousands (if not hundreds of thousands, or millions!) of trees around the world. It was moved to Denver Botanic Gardens and resides just a few dozen feet from York Street. This wonderful specimen makes a great spectacle in the summer months as well, if you click on this link you can glimpse a picture of it then.

Denver Botanic Gardens may host several dozen state champion trees, but there are hundreds more with great stories like this one (and a good many of them are likely to end up on the state list over time…just wait and see!). Come to think of it, being a tree and growing in Colorado–that’s a definition of “Champion”!