Old Tree

[cpeto]

Hi there,
My question is, I need to find out the age of a very old tree. This tree could tell the age of a piece of property. I believe that this tree was planted back when the house was first built. But I may be wrong. I think the tree needs to be preserved as a historical landmark. It needs to be protected. Do you know where I would go to find out this type of information? I'm located in Bucks County, PA. Thank you for your help.
Sincerely,
Cindy Peto

 

[Darin]

Some arborists used to bore a very small hole in the trunk of the tree and count the rings inside the tree. That would be the only accurate way of finding out exactly.

 

[Deere John]

Yes, and increment bore will produce a core about the size of a pencil that will let the rings be counted. Some species, because of the density of the wood, do not core well - the bore may break off inside they tree. Trees with wood density greater than white birch would not be bored by me - potentially too costly as the bits are $150 each. Your local arbourist will be able to help and tell you how they may help.

Trees cannot be preserved as they are living plants that both grow and decline and eventually die. Unfortunately, many (and I'm not being specific to you now, cpeto) believe that by blocking logging, or development of some form, that some present forest value can be preserved forever. That notion is wrong. A forest photographed today will look entirely different than a photo taken 50 years ago, without any intervention by man. Trees grow up, die, blow over, become temporary homes for critters, species change etc.

You are right to say protect the tree for what it is - an old tree. Protection from damage by development would allow the tree to grow/mature/die more or less at nature's hand. Be aware that trees, as they begin to decline, may become dangerous with respect to parts falling off or trunks breaking in the wind. An arbourist can help you assess the health of your trees.

Good luck

 

[Treeman14]

Good advice John.
I've seen more than a few people getting crazy about saving trees that are major liabilities. They just look at it and see a large old tree. They fail to realize how dangerous some of these large old trees can be.
Cindy, before you get too far along in the preservation process, hire a qualified, competent arborist to do a comprehensive hazard evaluation.