This large, old, beautiful white oak (Quercus alba) unfortunately has some pretty extensive decay at its base. We used various tools to assess the extent of the internal decay and to determine if the tree has enough strong wood left to support itself for much longer. After collecting our data, we found that there is a large internal hollow that has significantly weakened the tree’s base. Using a well-known equation for strength loss, we determined that a significant portion of the tree’s strengt

This is what a 4-year-old White Oak (Quercus alba) tree looks like! I planted this one in my backyard in the spring of 2021 from an acorn that I collected from a local, wild tree. This year was its best year for growth by far - it grew about 31 inches or 0.75 meters! It’s now about 5’ or 1.5 meters tall! Though I’m a big fan of all native oaks, white oak is my personal favorite tree species. In my area in southeast Pennsylvania, it is perhaps the single most valuable tree species for supporting