Champions of the Grove
Katsuratree (Cercidiphyllum japonicum)
Native to China and Japan, this tree arrived in cultivation by 1865 but the two specimens at Spring Grove are not quite that old. The tree loves to produce multiple leaders but maintains a solid architecture that doesn’t fail structurally. The original champion tree is located at the northern tip of Section 22 but was defrocked by another entry on the state champion tree list. Having another specimen in Section 53 proved to be beneficial because it staged a countercoup and returned the state champion title to Spring Grove with a measurement of 180-inches circumference, 78-feet in height, 67-feet in crown spread and 274-points