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What Is the Average Age of a Live Oak Tree?
What Is the Average Age of a Live Oak Tree?. A tree that provides a healthy dose of shade on a sweltering summer day, the live oak tree holds a special place in the lore of America. The extraordinary size of the tree and its ability to live to an exceptional age, makes the live oak one of the most enduring specimens for landscape planting.
A tree that provides a healthy dose of shade on a sweltering summer day, the live oak tree holds a special place in the lore of America. The extraordinary size of the tree and its ability to live to an exceptional age, makes the live oak one of the most enduring specimens for landscape planting.
Average Age
The live oak tree (Quercus virginiana) is an especially long-lived tree, often achieving a lifespan of 200 to 300 years. It reaches a height of between 40 and 60 feet with an average crown spread of 60 to 100 feet. This large, sprawling tree brings to mind images of the Old South of the U.S. and magnificent, live oak trees adorned with a draping of Spanish moss.
Hardiness
The average age of a live oak tree depends largely on the geographic locale in which it is situated. The tree thrives in U.S. Department of Agriculture Hardiness Zones 7B through 10B, an area that encompasses the southern sections of the U.S. in addition to the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. The live oak is extremely resistant to wind damage and exceptionally adept at adapting to a wide variety of soil conditions.
Age Estimation
An oak tree of any variety is considered ancient when it surpasses 300 years of age. It is possible to ascertain the approximate age of a live oak through a simple measurement technique. An oak tree with a trunk diameter of 6 feet and 2 inches can be estimated to have achieved an average age of 75 years, while an oak girth measured at 12 feet and 4 inches would suggest a live oak age of 181 years, advises the Worcestershire Biological Records Centre of the United
Oldest U.S. Live Oak
The Winter Park (Florida) Live Oak Fund reports that the oldest live oak tree in the U.S. is the "Seven Sisters Oak" in Lewisburg-Mandeville, Lousiana. With a circumference of 37 feet and 2 inches, in addition to a canopy spread of more than 150 feet, this live oak tree is estimated to be more than 1,000 years old. A similar live oak in Lacrosse, Florida claims a smaller circumference of 30 feet.
