A recent public debate has been ongoing in Urbana regarding arguably the tallest tree in town that is scheduled for removal. That tree is a hackberry, and unfortunately, the battle to save it was futile. That got me thinking....we've likely got one of the oldest, if not THE oldest tree in Champaign, and our neighbor has been determined have it removed through threats and lies (yeah, she's a piece of work). ANYWAY.....Our colossal white oak tree stands a few feet from our house and it is a major reason we chose to live here. Apparently, a common way to estimate tree age is to measure the circumference at 54 inches above the ground. Our oak tree is 144 inches (12 feet round). For white oak trees, a growth factor of 5 is multiplied by the diameter.....so let's see.....144......divide by 3.14159......45-inches in diameter.....times 5......estimates the tree to be about 229 years old!! This tree was alive before any house was built in our neighborhood (and likely any house in town). If the estimate is correct, this tree took root around the year 1785....seriously?? Yeah, more to come on this!
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