Hubby and I made the trip to the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha last week (if you've never been, definitely worth the trip - you'll need a full day minimum, and if you have kids, plan for at least two days), and I was impressed at the gardens, trees, and grounds in general - their horticulture dept is doing an excellent job! In one of the garden areas, I came across this stunning maple - trunk caliper of at least 4", maybe more, which means it's either very happy or quite old (or both). The raised bed it was planted in was about 3' high, and the tree must have been at least 5-6' in width, possibly more. No matter how you slice it, an impressive specimen. Unfortunately, there was no tag I could find for it, and I am wondering if anyone knows just which cultivar it is?
Was able to speak to the horticulture director of the Omaha Zoo today regarding another tree I had seen on site, and mentioned how impressive this dissectum was. She agreed, but unfortunately had no idea what cultivar it was because it had been there so long. She planted it about 15 years ago, and at that time, the trunk caliper was already a solid 4"; it is currently about 6". Given that info, I'm guessing this particular tree is likely at least 50 years old, quite possibly older. Impressive to say the least...
