| Oak
Alley Plantation, LA |
tuce-@msn.com |
| Jul
31, 2007 13:05 PDT |
ENTS,
Several weeks ago I contacted the Administrator at Oak Alley
Plantation,
in South Central La., communicating about the Live Oak Project.
After
permission to measure the Oaks, we set a date the 30th Aug. I
arrived
Monday at 1000 AM, after a 2& Half drive through N.O. morning
traffic (YUK). The Plantation is about 40 miles West of the city,
near
the town of Valcherie. Located on the Ms. River.
Oak
Alley was built in 1837 and
still has that Old Southern Charm feel about her. The River Side
of the
House has 28 Live Oaks, 14 on each side forming a fabulous
Gateway to
the River, almost magical. The Oaks where planted by a French
Settler
around 1710, making these trees somewhere around 300 years old.
I
spent about 4 hours measuring and photographing
the Oaks in extreme humid conditions, glad I'm used to the heat!
The
trees averaged, CBH-27'+, Height-70'+ and Spread-130+! It was
Fantastic,
28 of the Largest Live Oaks I'd ever seen! Bob, a sight to
behold! I've
got some great photos, and will send them to Ed. Neil, we have
documentation of these trees being 300 years old! I'll report on
the
measurements tomorrow. We can get a great growth rate from these
measurements!
Larry
|
| Oak
Alley Plantation |
tuce-@msn.com |
| Aug
01, 2007 11:31 PDT |
ENTS,
The seven Live Oaks I measured at Oak Alley.
#1.
Josephine A. Stewart Oak, CBH-31'2", Height-71' and
Spread-150'.
#2. Valcor
Aime Oak, 29'4", Height-74' and Spread-132'.
#3. Zeb
Mayhew Jr. Oak, CBH-29'2", Height-75' and Spread-130.5'.
#4. Andrew
Stewart Oak, CBH-29', Height-71' and Spread-145.5'.
#5. Jacques
T. Roman Oak, CBH-27'3", Height-71' and Spread-125'.
#6.
Overseer's Cottage Oak, CBH-26', Height-51' and Spread-130'.
#7. Celina
P. Roman Oak, CBH-25', Height-69' and Spread-135.
The
Plantation Link is http://www.oakalleyplantation.com/
Larry
|
| Oak
Alley Plantation-Back to Larry |
Robert
Leverett |
| Aug
06, 2007 07:01 PDT |
Larry,
It is clear to me that what we rarely see here
in the Northeast, a
20-foot circumference tree, is old hat for the Live Oak. But
30-footers
is the stuff of legends and now you are finding more and more.
We all
changed our perception of the species after BVP, Will, and team
climbed
and modeled the Middleton Live Oak, but it was easy then to
think of the
Middleton and Angel Oaks as very exceptional. However, after
what you
have revealed to us, I'll never think of Live Oak the same way
again.
I'd heretofore seen the species as a charismatic, oddly shaped
tree,
adorned with Spanish moss, and somewhat symbolic of the old
South -
certainly of plantations. But, I was clueless to how often it
reached
significant size. I assumed that there would be lots of
15-20-footers
and a few over, but nowhere close to the numbers you are
verifying.
For me, the Live Oak has become a
species with an ENTS story to
tell. What was the role of Live Oak in pre-settlement forests?
When and
under what circumstances does it start those magnificent
spreads? What
is its wild life value? What has its wood historically been used
for?
Where does it do its best? What are the characteristics of its
wood? I
know Live Oak wood is heavy, and I understand very strong, but
those are
qualitative descriptions? We need quantification. I've seen
widely
varying numbers for its density.
I have plenty of tree books that give
superficial descriptions of the
Live Oak, but the best I remember is Donald Culross Peattie's
elegant
description. I'll dig that one up and relate tidbits about the
Live Oak
in a future e-mail.
Once again, Larry, we are in your debt. As
soon as Monica retires
next June, we hope to begin traveling in earnest. We definitely
want to
get down to see both you and Will Fell.
Bob
|
| Back
to Bob |
tuce-@msn.com |
| Aug
06, 2007 07:41 PDT |
Bob,
Thanks Bob for the encouragement. I also wondered how large and
how old
the Live Oak can become. From what I've been doing I think 300
to 400
years would be the maximum age of Live Oaks that we are seeing
today.
Before the Europeans, who knows? 600,700 years, 40'
Circumference? We
may never know for sure how large or old they really can become!
|
| Live
Oak Growth Rates |
tuce-@msn.com |
| Aug
17, 2007 07:54 PDT |
ENTS,
The
Josephine Stewart Oak located at Oak Alley Plantation in
Louisana,
measures 31'2". Planted by a French settler around
1720-1730. The annual
radial growth rate for this tree equals about .212 inches per
year in
the 280 period. Which closely follows the other Live Oaks I've
been
doing for the past year or so. I have made arrangements to
return in the
fall and do a listing of all 28 Oaks. Somebody send us some cool
temp.
down we've had enough heat this summer I'm ready for fall, how
about
you.
I have 5
different examples of Live Oak growth rates during a specified
time period. The average radial growth rate results are .237
from the
existing 5 CBH'S and years growing. Ed I will send you a listing
with
photos. Larry.
Larry
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