The Ocean Grove portion of Neptune Township has now been completely inventoried. The only trees which were inventoried, however, were street trees – those which fall within the township’s right-of-way (basically between the curb and the sidewalk).

Here are some figures which you may find interesting. There are a total of 1339 street trees in Ocean Grove and of those, a full third belong to one species – the Bradford Pear. I must admit, I’m not a big fan of the Bradford Pear.

Although it is showy in Spring with its white flowers, doesn’t get very large, has nice fall color, and grows relatively fast, it tends to become weak-wooded (wait until a good ice storm and you’ll see exactly what I mean).

Plus, it is a non-native species (originally from China and Korea) that is over-planted!!! Should a disease be introduced for which the Bradford has little or no resistance, or should that big ice storm come, imagine Ocean Grove with a full third of its street trees taken out in one event. Don’t think it’s not possible – think Dutch Elm disease or the blight which has obliterated the American Chestnut.

In any event, the Bradford Pear is but one of 61 species of street tree in Ocean Grove. The top five most common (with the number of individuals in parenthesis) are: Bradford Pear (454), Norway Maple (167), London Planetree (115), Silver Maple (111), and Pin Oak (75). Nineteen street tree species are represented by only one individual including such notables as the Ginkgo, Sassafras, Eastern Cottonwood, Blackjack Oak, and Japanese Pagoda Tree. And while the maples are represented by at least five different species, the oaks are represented by seven different species (Black, Blackjack, Chestnut, Pin, Red, White, and Willow Oaks).

For the purposes of the street tree inventory, size was determined by DBH (diameter at breast height). Thus, each tree’s trunk was measured at about 4 feet above the ground – height of each tree was not calculated.

First prize for the greatest street tree DBH in Ocean Grove goes to a Mulberry growing at the eastern side of Founder’s Park, with a DBH of 55 inches. In descending order of size, these are the ten largest species of street trees in Ocean Grove: Mulberry, Silver Maple, Black Oak, Silver Maple, White Oak, White Ash, Silver Maple, Chestnut Oak, Silver Maple, and Pin Oak.

A few interesting geographic patterns emerged from the street tree inventory, For instance, when looking at the locations of the 25 largest street trees, the fewest number (only 4) are found in the southern part of the Grove (south of Broadway), while the north end (north of Main) has 10 and the central region (between Main and Broadway) has 11. Perhaps someone who knows more about the history of the town and the pattern of development can shed some light onto why that may be so.

Also, the two blocks east of Central are the most bereft of trees, with a total of only about 31 trees found east of Central Ave. (the number east of Beach Ave. is in the single digits). Rumor has it that tree planting east of Central is prohibited or at least discouraged since it may obstruct ocean views for some residents – I don’t know if that rumor is indeed true, I’ll have to check on that.

Although not street trees, there are two notable individual specimens I would like to mention.

First, on the southern side of Founder’s Park is perhaps the most stately, gorgeous tree in all of Ocean Grove (in my opinion). The species is a Littleleaf or Carolina Linden and, although its DBH is not as great as the Mulberry within the same park, it is an immense tree nonetheless.

Another worthy mention, and not because of its size or beauty, is a relatively small tree at the corner of Pilgrim Pathway and Pitman Avenue, across from the office of the Camp Meeting Association.

This tree has the distinction of having a plaque at the base of its trunk, identifying it as the New Jersey State Tree – the Red Oak. Now, while it is true that the Red Oak is indeed New Jersey’s state tree, perhaps the person who placed the plaque should have checked their tree field ID guide, for they placed it underneath a Red Norway (or Crimson King) Maple. Oops!

For any Neptune Township residents who may be interested in applying for Neptune Township’s Tree Planting Matching Grant Program (for residential properties only), applications may be obtained by contacting the Assessor’s Office and asking for Dawn (732-988-5200, ext. 247).