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The University of Vermont (UVM) is a beautiful school in the Green Mountain state that has been able to sustain Metasequoias in a cold, windy climate next to Lake Champlain. Set in Burlington, Vermont, the school was chartered in 1791 with an emphasis on agriculture and life sciences. The campus has many The area is known for its cold, windy, snowy winters. Yet Metasequoias have grown here. Along with Cornell Plantations, UVM is in the Laurentian mixed forest area. It is also the only site in my study that is in Zone 4, which is a colder zone occupying much of Vermont, upstate New York, Wisconsin, South Dakota, and Wyoming. These areas have relatively deep winter freezes, yet the area surrounding Lake Champlain is in Zone 5, so Burlington does not freeze as hard as central Vermont. Winds are average to above average, and precipitation is average. The dominant soil orders are Alfisols, Inceptisols, and Spodosols. |
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With this climate, as cold as it is, Metasequoias have fared better than their counterparts at Cornell Plantations. UVM has six Metasequoias, all planted in 1965 from stock in Michigan. The five at the Booth House are all about 50 feet tall with bases 10 to 20 inches in diameter. One specimen at the main green was transplanted in the late 1970s, and has fared much better with the extra space. It is 65 feet tall with a base 27 inches in diameter, very solid numbers for this climate. Burlington is a wonderful small city, full and ripe of the humble eccentricities of a small town combined with all of the horticultural and architecture beauty of a larger city. Having Metasequoias this far north is quite unusual. University of Vermont Main Street Burlington, VT 05405 |
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varied and unique botanic species throughout the grounds.