Stupid Tree Question

[Buckrub]

I know this is prolly not possible..........but is there any way to wild guess with any accuracy how old a tree is just from a picture?

Farm house, the 2 acres, has a lot of big old oak trees.........but this is the biggest. I just wonder how old it might be. Truth is, I can't remember when these trees were NOT real big, and I've seen 'em for 45 years.

http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk131/Buck7088/Farm%20Pics/Tree_zpsblvu1hkm.jpeg (http://s279.photobucket.com/user/Buck7088/media/Farm%20Pics/Tree_zpsblvu1hkm.jpeg.html)

[BarryBobPosthole]

It was likely there before white folks were.

BKB

[Nandy]

Doubtful, however, the measured dimensions could give you an idea. Try to contact an arborist or an arborist forums.

[No-till Boss]

Diameter in inches x growth factor (5) = tree age

[Buckrub]

Really? So all trees grow alike? Oak? Elm? Pine? Blackjack Oak? Sawtooth oak? Red oak? Water oak? Cypress? Walnut? Pecan?

I'll measure it when I go back in a couple of weeks.

[Nandy]

Growth is dependent on many things, tree type, weather conditions, bugs and tree health, etc. That is why I tell you to contact an arborist. That will just give you an idea of course, the only "sure" way is to count the ring so if you recently lost any tree of similar size/type i would use that as a gauge as they probably experienced similar conditions during their growth.

[Arty]

Cut it down. Count the rings.

Bam.

You're welcome

[No-till Boss]

Really? So all trees grow alike? Oak? Elm? Pine? Blackjack Oak? Sawtooth oak? Red oak? Water oak? Cypress? Walnut? Pecan?

I'll measure it when I go back in a couple of weeks.

There is different growth factors for different trees. I gave you the white oak one.

[Thumper]

Truth is, I can't remember when these trees were NOT real big, and I've seen 'em for 45 years.

Well, my guess is, a minimum of 45 years! ;)

[LJ3]

Here's the link to the math Bucky.

http://mdc.mo.gov/your-property/your-trees-and-woods/backyard-tree-care/how-old-tree

[BarryBobPosthole]

Wait. Is it the tree that's stupid, or is it the question?

You know, like 'Slow Men Working'. Or the 'Slow Children At Play'. And they're all buried at the 'Slow Cemetary'.

BKB

[Chicken Dinner]

It may be different out West, but here in the East there just aren't many trees that pre-date the Civil War. Almost all (except on the maybe on the mountain tops, were cut for fuel or building materials.

[Captain]

A very cool project going on is trying to locate and identify Indian Trail Trees.
Really neat work going on to save and protect the few remaining.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trail_trees

http://www.mountainstewards.org/project/internal_index.html

[Big Muddy]

I may be mistaken, but by the looks of that tight bark, that looks like a red oak....according to Len's link, I assume that's the same as a scarlet oak, which has a growth factor of 4.

I have two big red oaks in my backyard, just about the same size, as Buckney's....the largest one has a 38 inch diameter at dbh(diameter-breast-height of 54 inches from the ground....so, it is approx. 152 years old.

Interesting story about these two red oak trees....before I built my house at this site in 1975, an old black guy, named Aaron, worked for my Dad, and lived alone here in an old shotgun house, back in the '50s....his brother, Benjamin, lived and worked for another farmer on an adjoining farm....Benjamin's boss always paid his hired workers in silver dollars.

Benjamin saved up his silver dollars, and buried them in an old glass jar, in his backyard....Aaron had lost some money, while out drinking and gambling, so he decided to steal his brother's silver dollars....he went to Benjamin's house, and they got drunk together, and Aaron tried to talk him into giving up the location of the buried money....Benjamin held out, but Aaron started beating him severely with the handle-end of an axe.

Benjamin finally gave him the location, and Aaron dug up the silver....he had beaten Benjamin nearly to death, so he just turned the axe around, and finished him off with the axe blade, and buried his brother....Aaron ran off to Florida with the silver, and after Benjamin came up missing, the sheriff and my Dad drove to Florida, and brought Aaron back home to stand trial for murder, but they didn't know where Aaron had buried Benjamin.

Since Aaron was drunk, too, when he killed his brother, he couldn't remember exactly where he buried Benjamin....after he led the sheriff to several digging sites, Aaron finally remembered, burying Benjamin between the two red oaks, which was about 150 yards behind his shotgun house....which is now my backyard.

[HideHunter]

Very cool story, edddie.. My niece has a railroad worker buried in her back yard. They had a "southern" crew up there working on the grade and "supposedly" one of them just woke up dead one morning. They buried him in a little grove of oaks just off the right of way and that is now my niece's back yard. Interestingly enough - the railroad went broke and was never finished. There are a couple patches of paw-paws (rare here) along that old right away and story is they were grown from seed from the worker's lunch.

I knew 50 years wouldn't touch it because there's one over my granddad's pond that I shot squirrels out of 50+ years ago.. and I swear the thing hasn't grown three inches since. I have a white oak in my yard I transplanted from where my buddy built his house 25 years ago.. It's probably not quite 6" through.

[Buckrub]

And thus spawned the famous Southern saying "He hates that worse'n a possum hates an axe handle"!!!!

[Buckrub]

OH, and it's a red oak.

[DeputyDog]

You may be surprised that the tree may not be as old as you think. We have a state park close by that is just about 80 years old. Prior to being donated for the park, the ground was a cleared off farm. The majority of the large trees in the park were planted by the CCC. I was amazed when I saw photos of the area when they started to build the inn and toboggan slide there. There are no trees in sight, and now they are surrounded by very large trees. Mostly oaks of one variety or another.

[Big Muddy]

OH, and it's a red oak.

Yep, I figured it was, after looking closer at the bark.

[Chicken Dinner]

How old is the house? that might be a good indicator.

[Buckrub]

How old is the house? that might be a good indicator.

Um..........built in 1940, 1947, 1958, and 1985!

[No-till Boss]

I may be mistaken, but by the looks of that tight bark, that looks like a red oak....according to Len's link, I assume that's the same as a scarlet oak, which has a growth factor of 4.

I have two big red oaks in my backyard, just about the same size, as Buckney's....the largest one has a 38 inch diameter at dbh(diameter-breast-height of 54 inches from the ground....so, it is approx. 152 years old.

Interesting story about these two red oak trees....before I built my house at this site in 1975, an old black guy, named Aaron, worked for my Dad, and lived alone here in an old shotgun house, back in the '50s....his brother, Benjamin, lived and worked for another farmer on an adjoining farm....Benjamin's boss always paid his hired workers in silver dollars.

Benjamin saved up his silver dollars, and buried them in an old glass jar, in his backyard....Aaron had lost some money, while out drinking and gambling, so he decided to steal his brother's silver dollars....he went to Benjamin's house, and they got drunk together, and Aaron tried to talk him into giving up the location of the buried money....Benjamin held out, but Aaron started beating him severely with the handle-end of an axe.

Benjamin finally gave him the location, and Aaron dug up the silver....he had beaten Benjamin nearly to death, so he just turned the axe around, and finished him off with the axe blade, and buried his brother....Aaron ran off to Florida with the silver, and after Benjamin came up missing, the sheriff and my Dad drove to Florida, and brought Aaron back home to stand trial for murder, but they didn't know where Aaron had buried Benjamin.

Since Aaron was drunk, too, when he killed his brother, he couldn't remember exactly where he buried Benjamin....after he led the sheriff to several digging sites, Aaron finally remembered, burying Benjamin between the two red oaks, which was about 150 yards behind his shotgun house....which is now my backyard.
Years ago I had a knack for befriending the older men left in my community. I would go see them often , and usually bring them a cold beer, after several trips or even years, I would get some amazing stories like you just described. If I hadn't heard them from several different folks, I'd swear they were not true. It's crazy how barbaric it was in the backwoods, not that terrible long ago.