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Demise of Old Oak Trees


MickinMD

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There have been a number of big trees, centuries old, that have fallen over in the 2000's in the mid-Atlantic area.  It may be changing weather or it may be coincidence.

With all the wet weather this year in the mid-Atlantic, New Jersey's nearly 600 year-old Salem Oak fell down Thursday evening.

In 2002, the same happened to Maryland's Wye Oak, which was over 400 years-old and the largest oak tree in America.  It had a breast-high circumference of 31 feet, 10 inches, a height of 96 feet and a spread of 119 feet.

The Jersey tree (https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/jersey-towns-600-year-oak-tree-falls-63568009?

image.png.7fdafcec2d20f22462f880773740b438.png

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Sadly they don’t live forever. Saturated souls can sometimes lead to very large trees simply toppling over. The wet souls simply cant support the weight.

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50 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

There's always a biggest. An oldest. A tallest.

What's the normal lifespan of a particular tree like that oak? We were crushed by Dutch Elm Disease in the early 80s and lost two huge, beautiful elm trees in the front yard. :(

The NJ oak was nearly 600 years old.  The initial treaties between the British settlers and the Indians were made under it.

Maryland's Wye Oak was over 400 years-old and was estimated to have germinated from an acorn around 1540 AD. I remember learning about it in elementary school back in the 50's as being America's largest oak tree.

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