PaperBark Maple / Acer Griseum Beautiful peeling bark, beautiful fall color - a tree for all seasons

Coral bark maple

Angophora costata...

Big baldcypress. Great fall color, ferny-green soft foliage, interesting red-brown fluted trunk, sometimes has fascinating knees (mine have 'em), long-lived & durable, and to top it off, grows in much colder & drier climates than its natural range. Here's Arkansas' champ.

I have a soft spot for sycamores - I love to see them silhouetted against a winter sky.

If no regards for zone hardiness.

Adansonia Grandidier.

:-)

I'd go with our native western red cedar, Thuja plicata. A truly statuesque and magnificent tree and with a centuries old history of usefulness starting with the indigenous peoples and progressing into modern times with valuable, very long lasting lumber.

Some sort of oak.

I thought this was supposed to be fun.

Bill, you’re getting the most of your fantasy! That tree would make quite an impression in Minnesota.

I’ll go with a 400 year-old Quercus macrocarpa, producing abnormally large and sweet acorns. The branching would seem to stretch to infinity, while the leaves would turn a magical mix of orange, red, and gold in fall.

Okay!

As long as we're fine. ;-)

Originally, I was going to say a 5ft. diameter E. Hemlock but as long as there was no limits, I shot for the moon. :o))

I don't live on a sprawling estate, but if I did, it would be a Cedar of Lebanon, I prefer the Atlas "atlantica" variety. I like Bald Cypress but in a smaller yard, you tripi on their knees so prefer Metasequoia. I have a containerized Coast Red but no space in the ground now.

maackia, description said this open-grown bur oak w/roots watered by a stream in Marion Co, OH, was to be measured for a possible champion status. The 'Kreider' bur oak I planted is beginning to dominate all the other, nearby trees I planted and shading out my poor hazelnuts.

For real, I want a 200 year old weeping English beech.

I think it will fit in my side yard.

80 ft tall American elm

L Clark, you mean like this one in Duanesburg NY?

That’s awesome!

I'm really spoiled here with variety and amount of trees on some acres. Many are too big for three people to hug and are quite grand old things. Border trees predating the farming openings in the 1800's. A lot of younger trees too, as orchards were pulled and land grown in.

I'm very torn on just a few, let alone one. Is it cheating to pick sassafras because I know a mature one keeps spreading through the roots and will fill my yard with a forest soon enough? If it is... maybe a fat mushroom headed maple with a couple good branches to hang swings from.

i also love Live Oaks but no room for those either, most of my yard covered with varieties of Magnolia grandiflora.

There are so many, but since I have to pick one, Pinus bungeana. I have a small tree in my garden but this bark effect would take a lifetime. Trees with great bark and form take time, so for me that's what its all about...if I'm going to be fantasizing.

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fi.pinimg.com%2Foriginals%2F47%2F0b%2F94%2F470b945451247578b6ab258a2a68a331.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=2f35272da000cb281f7f3f976461bf2612739f5f908f1c4628d9f2bfb754bd56&ipo=images

I guess I enjoy simple pleasures. This neighbor’s 60 foot ginkgo is part of my “borrowed landscape”.

tj

Beech. American or European, they are both really cool trees. I love the bark.

Like artinnature, I think a tree with amazing bark would be at the top of my list. I'm guessing that the Pinus bungeana image in artinnature's post is likely a tree at the Dawes Arboretum named 'Silver Ghost'. I took this photo when I was there several years ago

In addition to great bark, a mature Stewartia pseudocamellia would have the added benefits of flowers and fall color - see this article from the Arnold Arboretum - Astonishing Bark

Shaxhome's Angophora costata looks like it has pretty amazing bark, but for perhaps the maximum bark impact check out one of its relatives - Rainbow Eucalyptus (from OneEarth.org)

The Wash DC National arboretum has a couple Pinus bungeanas, but they don't look good w/foliage very sparse on them. Perhaps the summer heat there.

I overlooked the bark factor in my earlier choice of Q. macrocarpa. It could be because of my bad experience with trees like Acer griseum and Pinus bungeana., but it's a fantasy! I may have to reconsider. :)

> If you could start your garden with one mature specimen tree, what would it be?

A 10,000 year old specimen of Pinus Longaeva

On second thought, Juniperus grandis. Even grows in zone 4. :-)

Bennet tree.