Does our Chestnut Tree have award-winning girth?

Greg Zell, an Arlington County Natural Resource Specialist, reports that the large chestnut tree in front of the Cherrydale Branch Library tree was recently measured and scored in order to determine its status as a Notable Tree.

The scoring system used to determine Notable Trees includes:

• Circumference (waist size)
• Height
• 25% of the average crown spread (the measurement of the dripline or outer branches of the tree)
• Attractiveness
• Historical or neighborhood significance
• Age

Our tree will be compared to similar trees that have been nominated in the past.

Library volunteers had hoped the Chestnut tree would be nominated for Champion Tree status (the largest of a species in Arlington), but our tree is not eligible because – as a Chinese Chestnut tree – it is not native to Virginia.

We should know the County’s decision in January.