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In childhood our teachers, undoubtedly following instructions
from the State Board of Education, dutifully taught us about our state birds,
flowers and trees. Some of these choices are a bit strange, such as Oklahoma’s
choice of a parasitic berry - the mistletoe - as the state flower. One often
finds legislators somewhat lacking in botanical skills. But it has only been in
recent years that these weighty issues gained national prominence as Congress
belatedly took up the issue of selecting a National Flower. With David Burpee
safely in the grave and no longer shamelessly supporting the lowly marigold as
the nation’s floral emblem, the rose was finally selected in 1986 and signed
into law by President Regan, no doubt in a Rose Garden ceremony.
Now it’s time to select a national tree. Exactly what attributes
should a national tree possess and how does one go about the process of picking
the perfect silvan symbol? Obviously, it should be a tree of great stature and
durability that has an extended life span. It should also be a tree that casts a
long shadow on American history and projects an image of strength to the rest of
the world. While the dogwood is a beautiful tree, it just doesn’t convey the
image of strength we want to convey to the Saddam Husseins’ of the world.
To help settle this issue the National Arbor Day Foundation
conducted a poll as a part of the 2001 Arbor Day festivities to identify
America’s favorite tree. Of the 444,628 ballots cast, the oak won hands down
with 23% of the votes. The only other serious contender was redwood, which
received 18% of the votes cast.
When the national tree issue finally reaches the Halls of
Congress, hopefully our elected officials won’t dodge the bullet and declare
"oak" the national tree but will be brave enough to specify one of the 60 plus
species of oaks that occur in the US as our official aboral symbol. My vote goes
to White Oak - good old Quercus alba. Three states, Connecticut, Maryland
and West Virginia, have already designated the white oak their state tree while
a forth, Illinois, lamely ducked the issue and named "native oak" to the exalted
position.
The white oak makes a perfect choice. It grows in 35 of our
Eastern states and its size and life span are unequaled among the oaks. The
largest white oak ever reported was the Mingo oak of Mingo County, WV that grew
over 200 feet tall with the first branch 145 feet off of the ground. The 10 foot
diameter tree was almost 600 years old when careless miners piled mine spoil
over the roots and killed the magnificent specimen. The largest extant white oak
is the Wye Oak on the Eastern Shore of Maryland which has a height of over 110
feet and a limb spread of 170 feet.
The strength and durability of white oak wood is legendary. Of
all our native timber species, boards of well seasoned white oak lumber is
considered the best hardwood of the American forest. The frigate Constitution
was dubbed "Old Ironside" because British cannon balls bounced off its strong
oak beams. White oak staves were also fashioned into countless millions of
barrels to haul wine, rum and whiskey to keep our fledgling nation’s sprits
high. White oak is still the choice for hardwood floors and is used extensively
in fine furniture building.
White oaks have an undeserved reputation of being slow growing
and hard to transplant, so they are not commonly met with in the local
nurseries. White oaks will attain 35 feet in 20 years with a 12 inch trunk at
breast height. While a faster growing oak - say the pin oak (Q. palustris)
- will be somewhat larger in the same period, the difference is insignificant in
the appearance of the landscape. Be sure to locate the tree in an open location
in the landscape where the grand stature of the tree can be fully appreciated.
It will grow in any reasonable garden soil but will grow fastest in more fertile
sites.
White oaks do not transplant as easily as red oaks when grown
for ball and burlap harvest, but today most trees today are sold in containers,
not as B&B trees. Most State Forestry Commissions that have a tree nursery
program grow white oaks for reforestation. Nurseries specializing in native
plants also will commonly stock white oaks as a part of their species mix.
Or, you can grow your own. White oak acorns send down their tap
root in the fall as soon as they come in contact with moist soil. If the acorns
are ever allowed to dry they will loose their viability. An easy way to grow the
trees is to plant an acorn in a gallon nursery pot in artificial potting mix as
soon as the seeds begin falling in the autumn. Because squirrels will be after
the acorns, cover them with hardware cloth but leave the pots outside where they
will be moist all winter and receive normal winter chilling.
In mid spring the shoot will emerge and the roots will fill the pot.
Fertilize the plant with a slow release fertilizer such as Osmocote or, if done
on a monthly basis, with a liquid fertilizer such as Miracle Grow. Even though
the tree will only be about 2 feet tall by the end of the growing season, don’t
allow the plant to stay in the container longer than one growing season or the
roots will become so deformed the new tree will not have a chance of becoming
established.
This story first appeared in the
AR
Gardener Magazine.
By: Gerald Klingaman, retired
Extension Horticulturist - Ornamentals
Tree Profile - July - August 2001
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