Does anyone know how old this water oak tree might be?

[tlbean2004]

 

  

  I have this HUGE water oak tree in my backyard.
There are other mature ones around aswell, but mine is the largest. I guess it's around 60-75 ft tall and it has a 4 ft diameter trunk. it is about 22 ft from the back of my house.

i know that these trees are not supposed to live very long and are fast growers. Several of the acorns sprout in my yard and one that sprouted around the time i moved into the house 5 years ago is already around 15ft tall.

Does anyone know how old the tree might be?

[beenthere]

Welcome to the Forestry Forum.

Helpful if you'd go to your profile (click on your name) and fill in your location. We don't know where your backyard is located.. ;)

No one can tell how old that tree is, not without cutting it down and counting the annual rings.

But for estimates, likely could go from the date the home was built and assume no older than that.

Another estimate is getting a core from an increment borer to count the rings for whatever length the core sample is, and estimate the growth before that limitation.

[curdog]

Without counting rings there is no way to know for sure,  but I have a water oak in my front yard that was planted right after the house was built  (1954), and is 52 inches dbh. Yard trees get big relatively quick.

[Banjo picker]

And even quicker if there are septic lines in the area. 
Banjo

[WDH]

I would say 40 to 60 years old.  They grow very fast in a yard.

[clww]

Welcome to the Forestry Forum.
Older that me, but younger than Danny. ;) ;D

[scsmith42]

I would say 40 to 60 years old.  They grow very fast in a yard.

This would be my guess as well.

[Magicman]

Welcome to the Forestry Forum, tlbean2004.  A guess would be 50-75 years old, but I like Banjo's analogy.  Adding your location to your profile might help.

[tlbean2004]

Hello guys, thanks for responding to my post.
i live in central Arkansas.
my house was built in 1960. but i dont know if the tree was there yet while it was being built since homes around (next door and behind) where built in the mid 50's.

I just love my tree though, i hope it lives along time.

I like how it has the big crown on top.

MY yard is 60 ft wide and the tree hangs over a little into my neighbors yard on the left side, but it appears to have been cut on the right side because of power lines.

[4x4American]

That is a nice one to have in your backyard.  I have two big old maples here with big crowns and in the summer when it rains if you stand under them your barely get wet.  In the fall there are enough leaves from them to save miami