I found this pine tree growing out of the top of a utility pole/fencepost...It is starting to bust the post a part..I hope whoever owns it don't decide to cut it ..
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/18028/Image_%286%29.jpg)
Wow, Tim. That truly is a treasure. Thanks for sharing that picture.
Debbie and I were taking a ride on the bike and I had seen that tree one day while on the job...we went by there and I got her to take the pic...She put the pic in the gallery for me...This is the first time I have been able to get a pic up without help....If I have got the hang of it I have a bunch I want to share. Tim
I think your pic is extraordinary.
But, I do see this often, with pines growing out of horizontal RR ties.
Now, you have me thinking.... get a large hollow tree, and cut it, fill it with dirt, and just see what I can get growing out of it when one end is planted vertical! (Just for fun)
I get hollow trees occasionally, and that would be a good use of them. I always think of making bird houses out of them.
N
Banjo, good job on posting the pic. 8)
You reckon that pine tree is much older than it looks? Wonder what the site index is for the top of a pole? Hmmm bonsai pine trees ::)
The core of that post must have been wet enough for the tree to root eh? I've seen yellow birch do that on stumps and moss covered boulders. The stumps rot away and you have the roots a foot or so above the ground. On the rocks it looks like a creature is trying to take off with a rock in it's claws. ;D
Gday
Thats an awesome pic Tim ;) ;D ;D 8) 8) You get to see some trees growing in weird situations sometimes Mate :) ???
Regards Chris
Also, congratulations on mastering that picture posting thing. I've been wanting to see pictures of your stuff. smiley_thumbsup
Here is the same tree in 2015...the first was taken in 2010.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/18028/tree_in_post.jpg) I think fishpharmer got it right this tree is growing very slow for a pine...it may well be fairly old. I will try to get another pict. in 2020. Banjo
Very neat! Thanks for posting five years later. Definitely a unique find.
Thanks for the update picture.
Very small tree to have cones. Early cone production can be a sigh of stress. Supports the older age theory.
Another 5 years have went by. It hasn't grown much but it's still alive. It just barely got missed by the tornado that went through Tishomingo on March 24....by maybe 100 yards.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/18028/Resized_20200407_123825.jpeg?easyrotate_cache=1586294412)
Banjo
I have a white pine in the yard in partial shade of an oak that is only about 5" diameter and has been producing cones for 4 years. Well that includes first year fertilization and second year maturity. They take two years like red oak does. It dropped some cones last winter.
Sometimes white cedar will do that on old posts in the shade of the woods. On the west (wet) coast, hemlock is likely to do the same. I have seen them grow off a moss covered limb high up in old ancient cedar trees. The cedars are 100's of years old. They get rain there almost every day where I have seen it. Also see bigger ones growing off old down cedar logs. Sapwood all mush and moss covered. Very wet medium.
Fascinating story and without the pictures, it would be hard to believe.
Life lesson: grow where you are planted.
Notice that in the first picture there is a brace against the post. In the second picture the wire and what's left of a post is there. In the last I dont even see the wire. Deb took the picture as we were out surveying the tornado damage in the area. This area around the town of Tishomingo has got hit hard two times in the last few months. I'll check it again in 2025. Banjo