Oatlands Ginkgo

The man who looks after Oatlands' trees calls this the third largest ginkgo in the United States. The Loudoun County Big Tree Registry's 2025 measurements make the claim easy to believe, with 103 feet in height (31.4 metres), a trunk 201 inches round (about 5.1 metres), and a crown 69 feet across, for 321 points. It grows behind the mansion at Oatlands, a historic house and garden south of Leesburg on Route 15. Jim Donegan, the estate's tree contractor, told Middleburg Life it is close to 200 years old. That is an arborist's estimate, and no ring count or planting record has been published to back it, so it stands as his judgement rather than a date. The national ranking is his too. The ginkgo is the only living species of a lineage older than the dinosaurs, and it shrugs off pests and pollution in a way that has made it a favourite of city streets. This one has had room and time instead. Its neighbours at Oatlands include an American boxwood canopy and yews the same article puts at around 200 years. In November the whole crown turns butter yellow and then drops in a day or two, which is the moment to come. The gardens and grounds are open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with a ticket. The county's 2025 measurement is the latest record of it; if you have seen it since, tell us it still stands.