The GCA Announces the Montine McDaniel Freeman Medal

September 18, 2024

Quercus montana Named 2025 Plant of the Year

The Montine McDaniel Freeman Medal is awarded annually to acknowledge the cultivation and use of native plants, trees, shrubs, ground covers, vines, and perennials that are little known but are deemed worthy to be preserved, propagated, promoted, and planted. This year, the Quercus montana, common name “chestnut oak”, has been named the 2025 Plant of the Year: Freeman Medal winner by The Garden Club of America. 

Quercus montana provides benefits to wildlife for food, foraging, shelter, and nesting. Its large, sweet acorns are an important source of nutrition for animals of all sizes from black bears to turkeys to mice. A wide variety of birds find shelter and safe nesting habitat in the chestnut oak’s canopy and limbs. Even the leaves serve as a host plant for larval Duskywings and Hairstreaks, while the litter acts as cover for salamanders and insects.   Respected authority, Michael Dirr, described the Quercus montana as “one of nature’s more important cafeterias.” 

Extremely adaptable and resilient, the chestnut oak will grow where many other oaks cannot survive, including steep rocky slopes and poor, dry soils.  In ideal conditions, this handsome, long-lived shade tree may easily reach 100 feet tall and nearly as wide.  
Once overharvested to procure tannins for processing leather, this hardy tree regenerated by sprouting from stumps. The tough outer layer of the acorn helps retain moisture resulting in high germination rates. The chestnut oak has the potential to grow successfully in over three-fourths of the USA.

Quercus montana offers four-season color and interest: pale pink spring leaves; glossy green summer foliage; copper, red and brown fall color; and a striking winter silhouette. 

Honorable Mention for the Freeman Medal was awarded to Magnolia fraseri, commonly known as the Fraser magnolia. The tree is an important food source for wildlife, and the fruit attracts birds. Occasionally, wildlife use larger trees as den trees. The magnolia often grows on steep sites, preventing erosion. Special Recognition was awarded to Hamamelis vernalis, commonly referred to as Ozark witch hazel, which attracts pollinators and benefits a variety of insects, butterflies, and moths, provides food for nesting birds, deer, beavers, squirrels, rabbits, and even the wild turkey and grouse.

Please check with local experts about the hardiness of these plants in your area.

The Montine McDaniel Freeman Medal was established in 1995 to highlight underutilized, but highly worthy, native trees, shrubs, groundcovers, vines, and perennials. The goal is to draw attention to select native plants, encourage their use in the landscape, and make them familiar to gardeners and more available in nurseries. The annual medal selection is carried out by a group of highly respected horticulturists from across the country. Woody and herbaceous plants are nominated in alternate years. The 2025 winners were selected from 19 submissions nominated by members of GCA clubs.

The medal honors Montine McDaniel Freeman (1915-98), a member of the New Orleans Town Gardeners, Inc., and was established by her son and daughter-in-law. Mrs. Freeman was an outstanding horticulturist and was particularly enamored of native plants. Her 93-acre Beechwood Gardens in Covington, Louisiana boasted more than 4,000 azaleas, camellias, and southern magnolias.  

(Courtesy Missouri Wildflowers Nursery) 

 

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