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I stood and behold. Tsuga canadensis.

6 years ago

last modified: 6 years ago

Was in Brainerd MN today so I stopped at the residence of the man on who's property stands the Minnesota state champion Eastern Hemlock. Not a huge tree by the standards of many states where they flourish but the T. Canadensis is considered a rare and endangered species here and what's left of a meager population is located for the most part in the far eastern part of this state. We don't have HWA to bother them but evidently the Climate that once caused their existence here has changed because there is no evidence of any regeneration even within the last few stands of wild mature Hemlocks that exist here.

This tree was hardly 300 ft. from the Mississippi river (east side) and only 20ft. from the street. I talked with Dr. Kehr and he said that the DNR guys told him that it was not just unusual for this tree to be in this general part of the state but to be in the yard of a residence in town made it particularly unique. There's still a question whether the house that was built in 1908 was there before the tree was planted or if it was a wild tree when the house was built.

There were cones sprinkled at the ends of most of the branches but they are so tiny, the don't show up good on the pictures. Dr. Kehr apologized for the wood pile in the driveway near the base of the tree that was just delivered. He was moving the wood into the garage and said he still enjoys burning wood even though he doesn't cut and split it himself like he did for many years in the past. You could tell he was very proud of his tree.

The tree has a very open, wide canopy and is 87" circumference @ 4-1/2', (27.75" dia.) the old state champ by Isle MN was 54" circ. by comparison 17.2" dia. but 7 ft. taller and much smaller crown.

Here's the news article with more info when the story broke.
http://www.dl-online.com/news/4129672-brainerd-hemlock-evergreen-goes-record-books

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Comments (5)

waynedanielson
6 years ago
Ah Yes, that hotbed of horticultural activity, Brainerd. Actually a lot more true than you'd surmise unless you reside in the non-metro areas of mn. You live in the metro area, elk river is northern mn.

Long time resort area, for those not in the know. Where mills fleet farm started. Actually a lot of businesses named mills there, most related.

Bill, of interest to you may be that new state park North of battle lake...it'll come to me sooner or later...
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waynedanielson
6 years ago
Glendalough.
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Original Author
6 years ago
Brainerd/Baxter area does have an Arboretum and several larger nurseries. With many lakes and multi-million dollar homes in the area, I'm sure there are landscapes with plantings there that would be a real treat to see.

The Dr. said students have come out on occasion to collect seeds from his Hemlock. Not sure if that was college level or not. He did invite me back to collect cones next Fall. I think I'll take him up on that.
bengz6westmd
6 years ago
Very nice. The dead hemlocks near me are (were) bigger:
User thanked bengz6westmd
User
Original Author
6 years ago
Very sad to see the demise of such large forest trees. Is there any headway being made with the predator beetles that were released a while back?

The one in Brainerd might have been much taller with less taper, if it was in a setting with competing trees. The branches go all the way to the ground and some are at least half as long as the tree is tall. If more of that growth had been further up the crown....

From the looks of it, there hasn't been any pruning done to the tree. The branches overhang the garage and lower entry of the house. The owner said he had to put hoods on his rain gutters because they would fill will needles and other trash but he's happy with the results.

I forgot to ask if he ever found any seedlings around the property. And I should've asked what type of soil is there. The banks of the river are quite steep and at least 100 ft. below street level. It may be a different type of soil along there and may even be underground springs that helped cause this anomaly.

Oh well, more to ask about next time. :-)

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