Biltmore Estate Trees

[bbeduhn]

I finally got an annual pass to Biltmore.  There is an oustanding collection of trees on the grounds, even Douglas Fir and Dawn Redwood.  There is a Rucker index for the grounds already but I did a little measuring in some groves near the house and the statue of Diana.  Hemlock groves are doing extremely well.  It appears that the groves near the house and gardens have all been treated entirely and the trees nearest the approach road have been as well.  Some groves of a dozen to a few dozen were entirely healthy and the largest grove I saw had only about 10% mortality.  I assume Will was involved due to the high rate of survival.

Tuliptree      126', 135', 137.5  12'9" , 137.5', 137.5'

White Pine   126', 129', 131', 132', 134', 136'

Hemlock      121'  10' 4",  106'  14' 2.5" Multi trunk with two small trunks and one large one--healthy

Red oak       120'  11'6"

Chestnut oak   103'

[James Parton]

Biltmore is pretty awesome. It holds a good collection of exotics and natives. Will can certainly add to this.

[Will Blozan]

Brian,

Although I was the first to find HWA at BE I was not involved (other than research) with treating any hemlocks there. I'm sure you have seen the numerous posts on the ENTS website- if not please check them out.

http://www.nativetreesociety.org/fieldtrips/north_carolina/biltmore_estate.htm

http://www.nativetreesociety.org/fieldtrips/north_carolina/biltmore/ents_gathering_biltmore_estate.htm

Will

[bbeduhn]

Will,
Do you remember if that 154' white pine was near the gardens in a spot where the lawn is surrounded by tall whites?  Are you able to say where that tall hemlock grove is located, or is it in a generally off limits area?  I plan to measure the Dawn Redwood soon.  I found a white pine near the gardens but couldn't accurately measure it.  I guesstimated at 154-155' but couldn't get a shot at the bottom.  I've spied a tall Norway in Black Mtn @ the Montreat campus.  I doubt it'd top 115'.

[Will Blozan]

Brian,

The 154' pine is down. It fell in a windstorm that took out the three scarlet oaks over 130' like dominoes... In the gardens I have only been able to hit ~147' on white pine but that was several years ago. Sounds like it's time for a remeasure trip. I believe the BE Arborist, Bill Hascher, is a member of this BBS list.

The tallest eastern hemlocks are behind the house to the right, below the cafe on a service road. They may have been cut down by now as this was the last plan I heard of for this superlative grove with dozens over 130'. I think there were three over 140' last time I measured. These are (were) the tallest known planted specimens ever documented. The ultimate cathedral-like fruition of Olmsted's vision of this grove begged for its preservation.

               

                       

                       

145' hemlock @ Biltmore Estate

               

               

As for the Norways @ Montreat I did hit 112' on one years ago. It is really sad how that property is going to crap now. Could have been a stellar arboretum. I have spotted a Norway in Swanannoa that is almost a guaranteed NC State Champion. It is high on my measure list.

I am off now to a client's property that has a Carolina hemlock that should be over 100' now, and quite large. They have 30 acres of treated hemlocks- a large part of it old-growth Carolina bluff.

Will

[James Parton]

Will,

I would be curious on that Swannanoa Norway. Maybe you will get to it soon.

[bbeduhn]

I'm not sure how you can justify cutting a healthy grove of hemlocks of any size, let alone the tallest planted specimens anywhere.  They justified the tuliptree massacre in front of the house as well.  I read that the trees were no longer a part of Olmsted's vision because they had grown so large.  I'm pretty sure Olmsted knew that tuliptrees grew exceedingly large.  If they'd wanted small to midsize trees, then why did they simply replant tulips.  They'll just have to come down in another 100-125 years when they become unwieldly again.  

Otherwise, Biltmore is an incredible place for trees, both indigenous and exotic...probably one of the finest sites in the country for exotics.

[bbeduhn]

I did some measuring at Biltmore recently.  The Dawn Redwood came out at 115.7'.  A white pine I thought was mid 150s came out at 149', surrounded by a 144' and a 141'.    I have some pictures but am having trouble downloading them to my computer.  I'll post them when I can.

[edfrank]

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Katsura

               

               

               

                       

                       

Japanese Maple

               

               

               

                       

                       

Bigleaf Magnolia 25" leaf

               

               

               

                       

                       

European Beech-Purple Leaf

               

               

               

                       

                       

White oak beer gut

               

               

               

                       

                       

Dawn Redwood   13'1"   115.7'    I'll recheck the height as it was measured @ 118.8' in 2004.

               

               

[bbeduhn]

I made a quick trip to Biltmore over the weekend with my daughter.  It's tough to measure very much with a 2 year old but I spent some time on the Dawn Redwood.  I got three measurements very close to each other and one anomaly.  123.1', 123.3', 123.5' and 125.8'.  I'll go with the average of the three similar measurements.  In 2004, Will measured it to 118.8'.  In 2008, James Parton got 117'.  I was a bit too close and missed the top last year at 115.7'.  I redid the numbers on the tall measurement and they worked out but I'll err on the side of undermeasurement, especially since three other measurements came out about the same.

Metasequoia (Dawn redwood)      123.3'
Chinese fir                                  100.5'   85.9'