pick out a shade tree is one of the most important landscape gardening decisions a homeowner can make . Unlike perennials or shrubs , which may be easily removed if they do n’t work out , a tree diagram is lasting . Because of the prominent role trees play in the landscape , much charge and thoughtfulness should be given to the selection operation . Of all the shade tree diagram species available to opt from , the oak is the most beloved and care for in America . About 400 specie belong to the genusQuercus(ancient Latin for oak ) . All oaks are long lived and have the potential to become splendid specimen if given sizable space in the landscape .
If you only have space for one big shade Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree , an excellent choice is the white oak , orQuercus alba . In his Quran , A innate History of Trees of Eastern and Central North America , 20thcentury naturalist and tree diagram authority Donald C. Peattie write : “ If Oak is the Martin Luther King of Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree , as tradition has it , then the White Oak , throughout its image , is the Rex of kings … no other tree in our sylva has so majuscule a spread . ” Dr. Michael Dirr , far-famed plantsman and woody plant expert , state a similar sentiment inDirr ’s Hardy Trees and Shrubs , refer to the white oak as the “ standard by which all other oak are valuate . ”
White oaks typically grow 80 to 100 feet or more at maturity . specimen grown in a forest mount generally attain greater superlative than ones grow in a battleground or spacious lawn . Given ample space in which to spread , the branches stretch parallel to the earth result in a massive canopy as wide as the tree is tall . This beautiful tree may be bump cater shadowiness in parks and suburban neighborhoods , stand as lone specimens in pastures , or group in natural stand throughout the eastern part of the United States and southeasterly Canada .
MAJESTIC WHITE OAK SPECIMENS IN VIRGINIA
On medium , clean oak may inhabit 200 to 300 years but sr. specimens do exist and have been well document . In fact , white-hot oaks are said to be able to last 600 years . In Nancy Ross Hugo ’s bookSeeing Trees , she describes the life sentence of a white oak as 200 age mature , 200 eld living , and 200 years choke .
The orotund white oak tree in Virginia is located at a individual residence in Warfield , Virginia ( in Brunswick County , which borders on North Carolina ) . At 86 ft magniloquent with a 120 - invertebrate foot crest , it is believed to be 500 years old . In 2002 , it succeeded the 460 - class old Wye Oak in Talbot County , Maryland as the biggest white oak in the nation . Felled by a hard thunderstorm , the national champion Wye Oak was 96 feet tall with a 119 - foot crown at the time of its demise . Just imagine – both trees were more than 200 years old when the Declaration of Independence was signed .
Albemarle County take the distinction of having the second largest livid oak Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree in Virginia . It is on belongings belonging to the Charlottesville Albemarle Airport .
Known topically as the Earlysville White Oak , this historical Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree is 75 feet tall with an 85 - foot crown and is believe to be between 250 and 300 years old . It is include in Virginia Tech ’s Virginia Big Tree database and the Remarkable Trees of Virginia Program .
Another ancient bloodless oak tree in Albemarle County is located on the yard of historical Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Greenwood , near Crozet . judge to be about 400 year old , this tremendous tree is full than it is tall . The trunk assess nearly six feet in diam . The Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree is seeable to the traffic on U.S. Route 250 . However , it is one of a number of large trees on the place . So , if you do n’t have a go at it it ’s there , it ’s well-heeled to drive by and miss seeing this remarkable snowy oak specimen .
CHARACTERISTICS OF WHITE OAKS
With the exception of poorly drain or very ironical and shallow soil , white oak tree are adaptable to most soils but thrive estimable in deep , moist , well - drain , slightly acid soil with medium rankness . The tree develop a long pat root ab initio , which makes it hard to transpose successfully . It is best transplanted as a very untried seedling Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree or , comfortably yet , grown from an acorn . Because of its deep beginning system , it is fairly drouth tolerant once it becomes well established . White oaks grow very tardily when unseasoned but start to get at a faster rate once the root word begin to distribute . A glad , well - planted oak tree Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree can make a salient mien in the landscape after 15 years or so .
They occur in an alternating pattern along the sprig . Each leaf is zep regulate at the base and is order in five to nine rounded , digit - corresponding lobes . The dense foliage is dark unripe to bluish unripe on top and sick or whitish - super C underneath . While not noted for their fall vividness , white oak tree leafage turn deep Red River to purplish brown . As wintertime approaches , the colour become uniformly brownish and many of the leaves flow on the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree until outpouring .
Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree situate in full sun produce more acorn than those that are shaded by other trees . White oak acorns are a preferred intellectual nourishment for a variety of animals , admit beaver , snowy - dock deer , coney , meadow voles , wild turkey , chipmunk , raccoon , white - footed mice , gray squirrels , crows , dispirited jays , mallard duck’s egg , Grant Wood duck , blank - breasted nuthatches , and bobwhite .
statement FOR PLANTING A WHITE OAK IN THE LANDSCAPE
So , in this age of instant satisfaction , why plant a tree that ’s not going to mature in your lifetime ? consider of it this way : The tree you flora today will be a giving to your children and your nestling ’s fry – a hold out legacy for the generations that follow you . Think of it as an investment that will , in time , increase the value of your property . Think of it as a mode to support wild life species in a truly significant agency . In his book , Bringing Nature Home , generator Doug Tallamy , Professor of Entomology at the University of Delaware , informs us that oak tree Tree are responsible for for supporting 534 species ofLepidoptera(moths and butterflies ) , far more than any other native tree diagram or plant . While birds and other creature are dependent on the dirt ball that feed on oak leaves , the acorn provide an important food for thought root to a all-embracing range of animal coinage .
If those argument do n’t convince you to implant a white oak , perhaps this one will . Oak trees in worldwide are in decline as the result of land development , invasive species , climate change , extensive cervid browsing , and many other factors . Planting a tree that is native to the area will benefit the surround and raise biodiversity more so than any bush , recurrent , or yearly could ever do .
If you have ample blank space to accommodate a large tree and are inspired to plant a clean oak , give considerable opinion to its placement in the landscape . This is not a tree that should be institute in a flyspeck yard or under a power line . A fully mature white oak specimen require a great deal of outer space , perhaps as much as a one-quarter to one-half Akko for the really ancient ones . Before planting a white oak tree , think what the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree will look like in 100 or more year . Imagine the amount of shadiness it will provide . Imagine the wildlife it will stomach and the wallop it will have on the natural Earth around it . suppose how beautiful that tree will become and how inspiring it will be to passersby and generations to add up . Just think … .
“ The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stand in the way . Some see nature all derision and deformity … and some scarce see nature at all . But to the eye of the man of imagination , nature is imagination itself . ” William Blake
source
A instinctive story of Trees of Eastern and Central North America(Peattie , Donald Culross , 1948 ) .
Dirr ’s Hardy Trees and Shrubs , an Illustrated Encyclopedia(Dirr , Dr. Michael A. 1997 ) .
Remarkable Trees of Virginia(Hugo , Nancy Ross and Kirwan , Jeff , 2008 )
Seeing Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree , ( Hugo , Nancy Ross , 2011 )
Albemarle County Native Plants Database Website ( www.albemarle.org/NativePlants/ )
“ Bringing Nature Home ” Website ( This website support the lecture series and bookBringing Nature Homeby University of Delaware Professor Doug Tallamy ) ( www.bringingnaturehome.net/what-to-plant )
“ fact about the Earlysville Oak and Other Big Trees in Virginia,”Daily Progress NewspaperArticle dated March 30 , 2013 ( facts - about - the - earlysville - oak )
” timberland of Virginia : Importance , Composition , Ecology , Threats , and Management , ” Virginia Master Naturalist Publication 465 - 315 ( pubs.ext.vt.edu/465/465-315 )
Remarkable Trees of Virginia Program internet site ( treesvirginia.org/outreach/remarkable-big-tree-programs )
“ Selecting Landscape Plants : Shade Trees , ” Virginia Cooperative Extension Publication 426 - 610 , ( pubs.ext.vt.edu/426/426-610 )
U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service Website ( www.nrcs.usda.gov )
Virginia Department of Forestry Website ( www.dof.virginia.gov/tree/ )
Virginia Tech Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation Website ( dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology )
