Can you tell me where to find some of the Great Trees of New York City that are on the NYBG property?

Answer

There are many lists of wonderful, old, big, and special trees in New York City.  Some New York Botanical Garden trees are on that list.  Here are a few of them.

Royal Paulownia (Paulownia tomentosa) commonly called the Princess tree): In May, it's purple flowers stand out as a welcome of spring.  Because the seeds are so light and large,  Chinese exporters used them as packing material.  Escaped seeds were scattered and now the princess tree can be found growing along highways.  It is considered invasive in many parts of the United States, including south of New York.  Like all NYBG trees, the specimen overlooking the cherry trees between the lilac collection and the Edible Academy was deliberately planted and cared for as a unique specimen. You can find its location on our NYBG map through this Garden Navigator link.

Blue Ash (Fraxinus quadrangulata) can be found near the Tulip Tree allee, if you are facing the beaux art Botanical Garden building that houses the Mertz Library. Its location on a garden map can be found through this link to the Garden Navigator.

Other noteworthy trees:

Considered extinct for millions of years , the discovery of dawn redwoods (Metasequoia glyptostroboides) in China in 1941 was very exciting.  Seeds were sent to NYBG and were planted in 1950.  The resulting grove of now mature trees, located in the Benenson Ornamental Conifers collection, are now over one hundred feet tall. Find them on our map here.

The grove of four Tanyosho pines (Pinus densiflora ‘Umbraculifera’) near the reflecting pool beyond the Conservatory Gate at NYBG, were planted in 1908.  The fallen decaying needles match the intense rusty orange-red bark color and are in stunning contrast with the green needles.  The limbs have intertwined with each other and so the flat top of all four seem to cover a brown/red "room". Find them on our map here.

Snake Branch Spruce (Picea abies 'Virgata') are found in the Benenson Ornamental Conifer Garden. Find it on our map here.

European Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus 'Fastigiata') are located on a triangle of land between the tulip tree allee, the rock garden and the native plant garden. Map location here.

River Birch (Betula nigra) are reached by stopping on Magnolia Way and moving away from the magnolias through the oaks to the very edge of the NYBG grounds. Map location is here.

You can use our Garden Navigator tool to find any other plant features that interest you at NYBG by searching on Find a Plant.

Courtesy of NYBG Plant Information Services

Additional Resources:

The NYBG blog where some of the horticultural staff was asked to talk about their favorite trees at the Garden.

Great trees of New York City

Swett, Benjamin. Trees of New York City. New York: Countryman, A Division of W.W. Norton, 2017. Print.

A book specifically about trees at NYBG:
Lederman, Larry; Forrest, Todd A.. Magnificent Trees of the New York Botanical Garden. New York: The Monacelli Press, 2012. Print.
  • Last Updated May 07, 2021
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