Anybody ever heard of willow oak? My brother bought a house that has willow oak trees in the yard. They look different than any oak tree that I'm familiar with. Has anybody sawn any?
I saw them a lot down here, Jake.
The Willow Oak and the Maple are the primary shade trees we have. A lot of people dislike the Willow Oak because of the leaf. They will flat stop up a gutter system on a house. Plus the leaves are impossible to rake up in a yard. But this tree really makes a GREAT shade tree.
I have sawn a good bit for customers. Personally I don't like it for making anything. Lots of water in this tree.
Check out this website.....exactly what I have.
www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/willow_oak.htm
They're common around here. It's a red oak similar to water oak.
I took one down in my yard a few years ago. Down here they grow fast. Like in, really fast! Not very long lived either. I think around 70-75 years they're getting long in the tooth. It is a red oak, and as was said very similar to water oak. From what I milled out of mine it isn't very impressive wood. Makes a much better shade tree than it does lumber. I haven't sawn one for anybody else; next one might be different.
Of the oaks we have around here, in my opinion, water oak and willow oak are two of a kind, and not very impressive as far as oaks go. They do grow fast in the yard, though, like mutants almost. In fifty years either species can be over 3' diameter. Slower in the woods, maybe.
As with any yard tree, there is always a chance of bacterial infections that reulst in wetwood, which smells, is weak, etc.
Quote from: GeneWengert-WoodDoc on October 20, 2012, 10:35:23 PM
As with any yard tree, there is always a chance of bacterial infections that reulst in wetwood, which smells, is weak, etc.
I'm glad you brought that up, Doc Gene. Why would you say this is more prevalent in yard trees?
I've seen more yard trees with disease which began with an opening in the bark caused from weed eaters and lawn mowers.
Quote from: POSTONLT40HD on October 20, 2012, 10:44:23 PM
I've seen more yard trees with disease which began with an opening in the bark caused from weed eaters and lawn mowers.
And kids with hammers :D
Also, soil conditions play a part, and yards can be compacted from humans doing stuff.
The big willow oaks in the swamps down here can be very impressive.
We saw quite a few willow oaks. All are native grown and saw out about the same as black oak.
As I mentioned earlier, most of the Willow Oak I have milled were similar to Water Oak. From my experience it tends to have a lot of color variation and more defect than most Southern Red or Northern Red Oak. In other words, it has a lot of character! :) I actually like the end result. Here is a photo of a room addition I am working on using Water Oak. It is still a work in progress. I'll post some more photos when I finish - not sure when that will be given the number of projects I have on the burner. :D
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/30211/DSC00826.JPG)
Nice job, RCH!
I have personally met this wood, and it is beautiful!
Red Clay, you have done a very nice job .....that Water Oak looks amazing.
I have many Water Oaks on my property and I am suspecting that the largest tree on the place is a Willow Oak, but I'm not sure. It's about 42" DBH and is in need of pruning. I looked at it this weekend and I want to call an arborist to see what I can do to preserve it. I figured it was over 150 years old until I read this thread.
Well the ones on a lawn can grow faster than ones in the woods. If you are fertilizing the lawn, and not providing any other trees nearby for competition, they will grow rather rapidly. My main experience is with water oaks. I'm not sure whether willow oaks do exactly the same thing, but they appear to be very similar trees except for the shape of the leaves.
With lawn-based water oaks around here, ½-¾ inch growth rings are not uncommon to see.
GR,
This thread has some pics of willow oak leaves.
https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,26886.msg384981.html#msg384981
I'll have to get some pics of the leaves of this particular tree and post them. I've very confused now, could be either one or even a live oak, which is what I'm leaning toward...
Round my neck of the woods its fire wood or chaulking dunnage at best.
If it is live oak, the underside of the leaf will be a very dull green/tawny brown. The upperside will be very glossy green. The leaf margins will be revolute (the top of the leaf is curled toward the underside just a bit at the leaf margin). This bi-color leaf of live oak will be very different than willow or water or laurel oak where the color on the upperside leaf and the underside leaf is the same color green and there is no curling of the leaf margin. Give us a pic of the top and bottom of a leaf and a bark pic.
Quote from: WDH on October 23, 2012, 07:48:50 PM
Give us a bark pic.
Talk about out of context. :D
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/24625/th_barking-dog.jpg)
Bark got me in trouble with Dana (Holmes on the Forum), so I am going to bow wow out on this one ;D.
Quote from: WDH on October 23, 2012, 08:13:13 PM
Bark got me in trouble with Dana (Holmes on the Forum), so I am going to bow wow out on this one ;D.
So what are you saying....are you gonna Flea? :)
Yes, with my tail between my legs :D.
Maybe I can buy a bark pic from Logrite. :P
Quote from: POSTONLT40HD on October 23, 2012, 08:16:51 PM
Quote from: WDH on October 23, 2012, 08:13:13 PM
Bark got me in trouble with Dana (Holmes on the Forum), so I am going to bow wow out on this one ;D.
So what are you saying....are you gonna Flea? :)
David, you HAVE to quit DOGGING WDH! :D
I have sawn quite a few willow oaks - quartersawing most of them. They tend to have very wide growth rings (1/2" - 3/4"), which makes the wood look different than traditional red oak.
The last three tree removal jobs I did in VA Beach were all willow oak trees. All were healthy trees that the customers wanted out of their back yards, mainly because the trees had gotten so large that they were worried each time we had a big storm or hurricane. Looks to me just like red oak, except for the leaves. Heavy with sap but splits great for firewood.