To celebrate our town’s beautiful trees, the Ridgefield Tree Committee offers this booklet describing the town trees officially designated “Notable Trees” by the Connecticut Botanical Society, as well as those named locally by the committee.

Currently honored as a Tree City USA, Ridgefield has good reason to be proud of our town’s natural environment. Our hope is that this information will stimulate heightened interest in the unique and special trees which are the canvas on which Ridgefield’s life and character are recorded. No doubt there are wonderful trees not included here – the Tree Warden and the Tree Committee invite interested residents to join in discovering noteworthy trees that can be added to this list. As are all the activities of the Tree Committee, the Notable Tree Project is a “work in progress.”

Also, Ridgefield’s Forestry Management Plan, revised and published by the Tree Committee in the fall of 2003, gives important information about the standards and practices that are essential to maintaining and enhancing the town’s impressive trees and shrubs. Copies of the Forestry Management Plan and this booklet are available at Town Hall or from the Tree Warden.

Tree Warden: John Pinchbeck
Tree Committee:
David Andry
Nancy Boersma
Joseph Eltz
Priscilla Holmes
Will Molyneux, Chairman
Tom Venus

 

 

Each Notable Tree is numbered and presented in order.

  1. Each tree is identified by its common name, then its scientific name.

  2. Maps locating each tree are on the centerfold pages.

  3. Notable Trees included in this booklet are on public property or are viewable from public spaces.


 
Tree #   Tree #  
       
1. American Elm / Ulmus americana 11. Northern Red Oak / Quercus rubra
2. American Beech / Fagus grandifolia 12. Norway Maple / Acer platinoides
3. Weeping Beech / Fagus sylvatica ‘Pendula’ 13. White Ash / Fraxinus americana
4. Japanese Tree Lilac / Syringa reticulata 14. Shadblow, Serviceberry / Amelanchier canadensis
5. Chinese Chestnut / Castanea mollissima 15. Basswood, American Linden / Tilia americana
6. European Larch / Larix decidua 16. Kobus Magnolia / Magnolia kobus
7. Colorado Spruce / Picea pungens 17. Purple Beech / Fagus sylvatica ‘Purpurea’
8. Ginkgo / Ginkgo biloba 18. Sugar Maple / Acer saccharum
9. European Beech / Fagus sylvatica 19. Little Leaf Linden / Tilia cordata
10. White Oak / Quercus alba 20. Silver Maple / Acer saccharinum

 

State Notable Tree – Connecticut Botanical Society


Location: On the front lawn of the Ridgefield Public Library, corner of Main and Prospect Streets.

Measurements ( 2003 ):

Height = 96’
Circumference = 8’ 8”
Spread Average = 26’ 6”


This majestic Colorado Spruce was planted on the Library grounds about 75 years ago, and appears in some old pictures of Ridgefield’s Main Street. As this tree has matured, the lower branches have died off, exposing the trunk, a growth habit that is typical of Colorado Spruce.


One of the most favored of all the American evergreens, the Colorado Spruce, often called Blue Spruce, was native to the Southwestern and Rocky Mountain states, but has spread to many other parts of the country. Its dull green, bluish, or silvery white needles emerge from all sides of the stems and are stout and prickly. The blue-green cultivars (varieties) are the most popular of this species, which is more drought tolerant than other Spruces.


In general, Spruce trees have more dense needle structure than other evergreens and thus provide more protection for birds and animals in the winter. Interestingly, to distinguish a spruce from a fir or hemlock, turn over a branch and, if the color is not much lighter, the tree is a spruce – the underside of fir and hemlock needles is distinctly lighter.

State Notable Tree – Connecticut Botanical Society

Location: To the right of the Ridgefield Guild of Artists barn, on Halpin Lane.

Measurements ( 2003 ):

Height = 78’ 6”
Circumference = 14’ 4”
Spread Average = 95’

This huge Norway Maple is one of Ridgefield’s most remarkable trees and is a co-champion as the largest of its species in the state.

Experts estimate that it is about 150 years old. Through those years, both children and adults have enjoyed climbing this tree and resting on its broad limbs.

A fast growing and once-popular ornamental, the Norway Maple was introduced from Europe. For years, it was widely used as a street tree in cities and towns because of its stress tolerance. However, Ridgefield no longer plants this tree species because of its awkward limb angles and because the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Forestry, has placed it on a list of “invasive species” that should be avoided.

The Norway Maple typically grows to a height of 60 feet with a trunk diameter of 2 feet. A number of typically sized Norway Maples can be seen along Stonecrest Road, where they once lined what was earlier an estate driveway. The large leaves are dull green above, paler below, and they turn bright yellow in the fall.