My much talked about by me Arbor Day foundation metasequoia from 02 I think it was. A Craftsman Z5400 mower is providing scale in the first pic. Something continually bends or snaps the leader and the tree just figures it out . The most exciting thing the tree lived through was the drought and heat of 2012. It probably lost 90% of its foliage.

The old thread:https://www.houzz.com/discussions/1680941/metasequoia-defoliating-in-the-drought-bet-if-it-will-make-it

As a side note a few years after the drought a third tree was failing in a spot maybe 80 feet away by where I took today's pics from, I planted another Metaseaquoia I had outgrowing its pot. That one is thinner but seems intent on growing vertically faster. We'll see how they rank in 2035.

Dawn redwoods grow big and fast because -- they're redwoods! After ~20 yrs my dawn redwood has the thickest trunk of any of my planted trees, but isn't the tallest (pic shown is 4-5 yrs ago). Tallest is tuliptree near 70 ft, but it's slender. Honeylocust is over 60 ft, and broadening out (honeylocust pic shows dawn redwood to right and behind). Chinese elm and male osage orange are both contenders w/broad American elm-like crowns. All the trees mentioned were mail-order.

Pinus resinosa and P. strobus from forestry stock.

Probably the first trees I ever planted, circa 1978-79.

~150 trees ordered at the time from Badoura nursery MN (some not pictured).

The county cut a few that were the largest, from out in front, for intersection visibility, many years ago.

Around 50 feet tall.

:-)

It may not be as big as others here, but I'm proud of my Banksia integrifolia, as it's had a chequered life and survived brilliantly. Common name is Coastal Banksia, as it's a popular and ubiquitous tree on beachfronts, growing in almost pure sand and being constantly whipped by salt spray. However, I live inland on granite country, 3 hours drive from the nearest coast. And my winters are quite cold and frosty, something foreign to this species. I've not seen another within 100 kms of my place. But I've always admired them, and thought I'd try.

I planted it as a spindly, 12" whip, with a solitary small branch about half way up. About a week later, I walked outside to check it, and unfortunately startled a grazing kangaroo who promptly jumped on top of the tree in its haste to escape. The top snapped off just above the branch, and I figured it wasn't meant to be. So I ignored it and averted my eyes whenever I passed by. But months later, I noticed that the branch had new growth and had decided to start growing upwards, and it eventually became the trunk.

That was 15 years ago, and now it provides nectar and nesting places for a multitude of honey-eaters and smaller birds. It gives me great joy!

Toranado, you had me at Craftsman Z5400. I’m afraid this contest is a bit one-sided. Here’s my Metasequoia glyptostroboides, circa May 2024. It’s a sad little tree for sure, but it’s also the little tree that could.

I’ll follow Sam’s lead with this Nikko Maple. There's a real hardship story here. It suffered major tissue damage following a severe cold snap a few years ago. It is resilient and has taken advantage of this Spring’s benign conditions. The nearby Abies lasiocarpa is not so exuberant.

Oldest/tallest thing I know of that is still alive that I helped plant as a kid are some red pines at the cabin in north central MN in the early 80's.

Hard to appreciate the size of this Needle palm in northern Virginia. It’s about 12 feet high now.

Yeah for me, it is also the Metasequoia (Dawn Red).

Above is from a few years ago in November, when they color here

Southern Magnolias are also massive now. I planted mine when they were 1 foot tall, now they over 4 stories tall and completely cover the house next door.

P.S., Having a tree service coming in to trim the jungle this week.

Fun question and thread. Took me a while to figure this one out.

I'd have to guess this one - a roughly 33 year old black walnut (Juglans nigra) that I planted as tiny seedling. Growing like a weed in a spot that must have some really ideal soil or an underground spring or both. Was even run over by a snowmobile once, so it had a "restart."

Likely over 50 feet tall now. Trunk diameter is about 18" one way, 13" the other.

A Japanese Maple that was planted in a gallon pot that cost me $35. in the early 1980s is now higher than the roof of the house. Our neighbor on that side of the house, just this summer was mentioning to me that he remembered when I planted it how small it was. And he was a little kid, at that time.

Prairie, do you know the vairety? We have Bloodgood, it used to be small, now it is huge. I am in NJ, Zone 7a/b. We lost the other maples (Sugar and Red), but this one survived, I think it was related to our hotter, longer and more humid summers. We LOVE this tree! This is from late November.

and in February...

My Franklin Tree I grew from seed. It's been blooming for a month, notice the spent flowers on the ground. This distinctive tree is extinct in the wild.