How old is my Oak Tree?

Question

I know that you can count the rings, but thats only if you cut it down. That is not an option. A friend of mine had an Oak cut down which was smaller than mine containing 300 rings. The Oak tree in our woods stands 110ft tall and is 8 foot wide at the base. It has roots that pertrude out of the ground that are two feet wide.

Answer 1

What is the difference between the diameter and/or circumfrence of your tree and your friends. If yours is twice a big as your friends, yours is probably somewhere around 600 years old. There is no way to know the exact age unless the rings can be counted, but you can get a fairly accurate estimate using the method described.

Different species of oak grow at different yearly rates in different parts of the country. The same species of oak tree will grow much slower in Minnesota that it will in Alabama because of the shorter growing seasons. Soil conditions also will have a big effect on growth rates. For those reasons, there is no "average" growth rate that can be applied to your tree based on the information you have given.

Good luck with your search for information.

Answer 2

You can compare your tree to a tree that has been cut down in your local area and get a reasonable idea of the age. Also, you can see how thick each of the rings were on your friends tree (if it was local) and estimate how many it would take to make up the radius (halfway across) your tree.

Answer 3

Take a tape and measure the girth (distance around the trunk) approximately 150cms. from the ground.

If the tree is growing close to other trees, and it has a tall straight trunk, it will have been struggling to grow up to the sunlight, so every 12mms. of girth equals one year of growth.

If the tree is standing on its own with plenty of side branches growing from the trunk, then every 25 mm. of girth equals one year of growth.

Answer 4

I guess the rings can be seen by cutting the branch also. try it out

Answer 5

pretty darn old

Answer 6

REALLY OLD!