How old is this oak tree ?
#7327802
08/11/21 08:10 PM
08/11/21 08:10 PM
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Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 10 Upstate NY
Kbayduck
OP
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OP
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Posts: 10
Upstate NY
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Older member here, have lurked for a while, but new to posting. here goes ...
We have on our property line, (an old property line that's traceable back to the 1700's) a majestic white oak in great shape. About a foot above ground level it measures a little over 21 feet in circumference, hence about 6 1/2' in diameter. The property line has a handful of additional oaks half the diameter (still pretty large), but this one clearly stands out as the biggest by far. Probably the only way to truly know the age is to ring count, but short of doing that, how old could this tree be ? Any wood cutters, lumber folks woodcrafters care to venture a guess. The tree is located in the upper Hudson Valley of New York if that could have a bearing on it's age.
Thanks in advance, great topics on this forum, really enjoy it.
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Re: How old is this oak tree ?
[Re: Kbayduck]
#7327807
08/11/21 08:16 PM
08/11/21 08:16 PM
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Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 6,686 Wabash, IN USA
Flipper 56
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Wabash, IN USA
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Great question, can't wait to hear a great answer.
Last edited by Flipper 56; 08/11/21 08:27 PM.
"Where Can A Man Find Bear Beaver And Other Critters Worth Cash Money When Skinned?"
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Re: How old is this oak tree ?
[Re: white marlin]
#7327821
08/11/21 08:30 PM
08/11/21 08:30 PM
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Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 25,674 Georgia
warrior
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trapper
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 25,674
Georgia
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what warrior said.
open grown trees put on diameter a lot quicker than those growing in over stocked or fully stocked conditions. Yep, the differences between field grown and forest grown would almost have you thinking two different species.
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Re: How old is this oak tree ?
[Re: Kbayduck]
#7327843
08/11/21 08:43 PM
08/11/21 08:43 PM
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Joined: Feb 2021
Posts: 24 Arkansas
Flattail1961
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Arkansas
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Older member here, have lurked for a while, but new to posting. here goes ...
We have on our property line, (an old property line that's traceable back to the 1700's) a majestic white oak in great shape. About a foot above ground level it measures a little over 21 feet in circumference, hence about 6 1/2' in diameter. The property line has a handful of additional oaks half the diameter (still pretty large), but this one clearly stands out as the biggest by far. Probably the only way to truly know the age is to ring count, but short of doing that, how old could this tree be ? Any wood cutters, lumber folks woodcrafters care to venture a guess. The tree is located in the upper Hudson Valley of New York if that could have a bearing on it's age.
Thanks in advance, great topics on this forum, really enjoy it. Get with a forestry professional or college that has forestry curriculum and have someone come out a take a core sample with a core sampling tool. That would likely yield a suitable ring count for accurate aging.
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Re: How old is this oak tree ?
[Re: Flattail1961]
#7327848
08/11/21 08:46 PM
08/11/21 08:46 PM
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Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 6,499 central Haudenosaunee, the De...
white marlin
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trapper
Joined: Jan 2007
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central Haudenosaunee, the De...
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Older member here, have lurked for a while, but new to posting. here goes ...
We have on our property line, (an old property line that's traceable back to the 1700's) a majestic white oak in great shape. About a foot above ground level it measures a little over 21 feet in circumference, hence about 6 1/2' in diameter. The property line has a handful of additional oaks half the diameter (still pretty large), but this one clearly stands out as the biggest by far. Probably the only way to truly know the age is to ring count, but short of doing that, how old could this tree be ? Any wood cutters, lumber folks woodcrafters care to venture a guess. The tree is located in the upper Hudson Valley of New York if that could have a bearing on it's age.
Thanks in advance, great topics on this forum, really enjoy it. Get with a forestry professional or college that has forestry curriculum and have someone come out a take a core sample with a core sampling tool. That would likely yield a suitable ring count for accurate aging. generally a good idea, but you'd need a hellish increment borer to reach the center of that tree!
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Re: How old is this oak tree ?
[Re: Kbayduck]
#7327868
08/11/21 09:10 PM
08/11/21 09:10 PM
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Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 2,932 NY
Rat_Pack
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Can't help you with the age, but that's a monster for NYS. Check out the NY Big Tree Register. The biggest white oak (Dutchess) in their book is almost 21 feet circumference. You should remeasure your tree at breast height (4.5 feet), not near the base. There are a couple other measurements that go into calculating the total score, but yours sounds like it could be right up there.... Big Tree Register - NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation https://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/5248.html
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Re: How old is this oak tree ?
[Re: Kbayduck]
#7327873
08/11/21 09:13 PM
08/11/21 09:13 PM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 20,100 SEPA
Lugnut
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There is an ancient oak near me, the Sacred Oak of the Oley Valley. It is a Chinkapin Oak (white oak family).
It has a girth of 21' 2", a 118' spread and is 73 feet tall.
No core sample have been taken that I am aware of. It is estimated to be more than five hundred years old.
Elders of the Lenni Lenape tribe have certified the tree has been venerated for 480+ years. The current owner, a horticulturist, places the tree's age at approximately 700 years.
Eh...wot?
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Re: How old is this oak tree ?
[Re: Kbayduck]
#7327876
08/11/21 09:17 PM
08/11/21 09:17 PM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 11,294 Oregon
beaverpeeler
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White oaks in our area (Q. garryana) tend to be slow growers. I've seen some stumps down in the brush lands from a cutting that took place 100 years ago (stumps still solid one inch down into the wood) and 20-30 " diameter stumps had around 200-250 years of age.
My fear of moving stairs is escalating!
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Re: How old is this oak tree ?
[Re: Kbayduck]
#7327895
08/11/21 09:30 PM
08/11/21 09:30 PM
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JOCO1995
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JOCO1995
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Wow. Neat thread. Hurricanes have got several old growth trees at home over the years, not much left with any size other than a few oaks, some old longleaf pines, and a sycamore so big it gave indians shade for sure.
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Re: How old is this oak tree ?
[Re: Kbayduck]
#7327961
08/11/21 10:29 PM
08/11/21 10:29 PM
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Joined: May 2013
Posts: 5,114 Northern Michigan
J.Morse
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Without a super long increment borer you can't do anything but guess the tree's age. I have some oak on my place that are a foot across but less than 30 years old.....I know because I had the spot clear-cut in 1994. I was once cutting pulp and hired to take out every other row in an extensive Red Pine plantation. As I worked my way up a row I came to a sand blow area (where the topsoil had all blown away years before). There were Red Pine growing in that near-sterile sand that were the exact same age as the 10-12+ inch Red Pine I was harvesting, because they were still in rows and spaced the same as the ones I was cutting. This plantation was just over 30 years old, and some of those little Reds were bonsai sized....less than 1 1/2 or 2 inches across, and 2 1/2 feet tall. Another tree growth example is a couple Red Pine in the north part of our county that were used as "witness trees" during the original U.S. government survey in 1852. These trees are maybe 22"-24" in diameter today. They had to have been large enough to use as witness trees in 1852, so it doesn't appear they have grown much at all in the 169 years since they were first used. I have no clue how to post a link, but if you Google "WITNESS TREE WORK/Houghton Lake Resorter" you can see a 12 year old photo of the two trees. My mother planted a Weeping Willow near the lakeshore of the little lake I grew up on, 38 years later, the guy I sold the house to had the willow removed. It was over 4 foot in diameter at breast height. When it comes to size, where a tree grows is just as important as how long it grows.
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Re: How old is this oak tree ?
[Re: Kbayduck]
#7327975
08/11/21 10:46 PM
08/11/21 10:46 PM
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Joined: Mar 2019
Posts: 1,497 Southern NJ
maintenanceguy
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We cut one down that was 5-1/2 ft across. Or, I should say, we hired someone to cut it down.
Counted the rings a few times and everybody came up with slightly different answers but all were close to 260 yrs old.
-Ryan
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Re: How old is this oak tree ?
[Re: Kbayduck]
#7328013
08/11/21 11:37 PM
08/11/21 11:37 PM
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Joined: Dec 2017
Posts: 6,226 Kansas
Pawnee
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337 years 6 months and 5 days. That’s my best guess. Welcome
Everything the left touches it destroys
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