“Let it grow, let it grow. You can’t reap what you don’t sow. Plant a seed inside the earth, just one way to know its worth. Let’s celebrate the world’s rebirth.” — The Lorax movie
DELAWARE — Sixty-one, going on 62: That’s how many unique trees are spreading their roots in the city of Delaware’s Oak Grove Cemetery and Arboretum at 334 S. Sandusky St.
The 61st tree, an American Hornbeam, found its home on Wednesday when the city’s parks and recreation team held a small get-together in honor of Earth Day.
An arboretum is a specialized garden or living museum dedicated to the cultivation and display of several trees and plants.
Delaware’s arborist Hunter Smith said a management plan, an oversight body and at least 25 different species is necessary to achieve arboretum status. The cemetery achieved Level 1 arboretum status on Arbor Day 2025.
“Our Shade Tree Commission agreed to be the oversight authority, and they helped put together the strategic management plan,” Smith said.
“A cemetery is usually where a city’s oldest trees are, and if you lose them, you’re going to have to replace them.”
The newest sapling grows the arboretum one step closer to Level 2, which is a whopping 100 different trees.
However, the Earth Day tree won’t be the new guy for long — Smith plans to plant another one on Friday for Arbor Day.
“We’re going to plant an Overcup Oak, and that’ll be 62,” Smith said. “We’re going to try to add additional species as part of these planting events.
“It’s just one of those things to show our citizens that we’re committed to maintaining this sacred space for people as an open, walkable green space.”
Taking a tree tour
Smith said the American Hornbeam is native to the eastern U.S. and likes to grow in bottomlands or lowland forests.
“It’s a great native species, it’ll grow to be about 30 or 35 feet tall,” Smith said.
“It goes by different names, musclewood and blue beech. It’ll have smooth bark like the American beech, and the irregularities in the growth of the bark make it look like muscle.”
Meanwhile, the Overcup Oak likes watery, clay areas — an asset since many plants can’t grow in those conditions.
“It’s a good species. Like an oak, it’ll grow potentially 50 feet tall, 55 feet wide and have a good spread,” Smith said.
