13 Sept 2024

The PLANTS project: champion trees in the South and West of Scotland

Written by Fran Culverhouse, PLANTS West Inventory Officer

Cryptomeria japonica at Culzean

During recent surveys of our gardens in the South and West regions, the PLANTS project identified several national ‘Champion Trees’. The West team’s Fran Culverhouse discusses the biggest and ‘best of their kind’ trees growing in her region.

The Trust’s gardens are home to a variety of remarkable trees, but how many are recognised as champions? The Tree Register of Britain and Ireland (TROBI) is a charity that records and measures notable trees due to size, age, rarity or historical associations. Only 80,000 trees meet the criteria of being exceptional due to their size, age, rarity or historical importance. The measurements in TROBI’s database allow us to know which trees in the Trust’s gardens are champions. As the PLANTS project enters its third year, the information gathered is aiding the Trust in gaining a deeper understanding of the champion trees under its stewardship.

What exactly is a champion tree? It’s not just any tree, but the largest and finest example of a tree species or cultivar thriving in Britain and Ireland. A tree can earn the title of champion for its towering height or its impressive girth, and it can be recognised as a champion of Britain and Ireland, a country champion, or a county-level champion.

The South and West PLANTS teams have been getting to know the champion trees in the region. Brodick Castle has the most, closely followed by Crarae Garden. Culzean Castle, Threave Garden & Nature Reserve and Arduaine Garden also hold impressive numbers.

A photo of a large tree (American hornbeam) with lots of branches coming from the trunk

A blue tree identification label on a stake in the ground. It reads Carpinus caroliniana, American Hornbeam

While some champions have been more challenging to locate, sometimes growing amongst other large trees, others are in plain view, such as the Cryptomeria japonica (Japanese cedar or Sugi) planted in the walled garden at Culzean Castle in 1876. This is a county champion due to its girth of 553cm. At Threave, champion trees have a blue label, making them easy to spot, such as the Carpinus caroliniana (American hornbeam) in the south-west corner of the garden; it is a Britain and Ireland champion for both its height of 12m and girth of 223cm.

A tree trunk with branches leading off it and foliage on each branch.

Leaves with a marbled effect and dainty white flowers.

As most champion trees are sizeable, it can be surprising to see more diminutive champions. Gardens on the west coast of Scotland, with their relatively mild winters, are home to many unusual trees that may not survive winter in other parts of the country. Carpodetus serratus (marble leaf) is an example of a species native to New Zealand. It grows happily in the west border of the walled garden at Brodick Castle, standing at 6m tall, and is a champion tree of Britain and Ireland due to its girth measuring 113cm.

Once we have located the trees and recorded them as champions on our IrisBG database (a collection management database), we can easily view the data of all champion trees within our gardens. This will be the same for other plants with an attribute such as being part of a national or historic collection, making it a very useful tool for those working with and managing the Trust’s living collections.

Seeing the biggest known tree of its kind in our gardens is always exciting. As well as admiring the tree itself, it also makes me think of the person who selected it for that location where it has since thrived, and of those who have been its custodians over the years.

The title of champion may, however, be fleeting; in time, demotion to ‘former champion’ status is an eventuality. Champion or not, each tree growing in our collection is there for us to enjoy and celebrate, and who knows which younger trees may become champions of the future?

Below is a small selection of champion trees the South and West PLANTS team has audited so far. They are well worth tracking down next time you visit one of these gardens.

Champions of Britain and Ireland

Champions of Scotland

A tree fern with ferns also growing around the base of the trunk

County champions

A giant redwood grows on a lawn with blue sky in the background

Plant Listing at the National Trust for Scotland (PLANTS) is the biggest horticultural audit project undertaken by the Trust and aims to celebrate, protect and better understand the flora and vegetation across our gardens and designed landscapes.