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Above: a young Quercus agrifolia recently planted at the Huntington. It's about 15' (4.5 m) tall.
Baby Q. agrifolia at home on the front slope. It's about 7' (2.1 m) tall now.
Better visible with a little back lighting:
Here it was at planting, in January 2011, as a sprouted acorn:
Planted:
The sprouted acorn probably fell from the neighbor's tree, which is about twenty to thirty years old. I often wonder the if neighbor's tree is an offspring of an even older, larger tree at the top of the hill.
Are you Grandma?
Quercus agrifolia has a potential lifespan of 500 to 600 years. I cannot hope mine will live so long--all of Southern California will probably be covered with towering apartment blocks before then--and climate change and the Polyphagous Shothole Borer threaten, but perhaps Baby Oak's future acorns will somehow survive, to grow elsewhere, somewhere, and preserve this magnificent species. To plant a tree is to plant hope in the future. Hope at least that where once a long time past, I planted a sprouted acorn, someday, someone will see a sight like this:
As least as good a chance as winning the Powerball lottery, eh?
The sprouted acorn probably fell from the neighbor's tree, which is about twenty to thirty years old. I often wonder the if neighbor's tree is an offspring of an even older, larger tree at the top of the hill.
Amen to that! I realize that many people live on extremely small lots--too small for trees of any size--but let's donate some money then to organizations that do plant trees. It's a small but vital contribution we can all make towards a greener future.
ReplyDeleteTrees too big for their location is a real problem. I hope I planted my oak with enough space for many decades.
DeleteThat's pretty impressive growth in 5 years! May it be the Rocky of the oak world!
ReplyDeleteOr the Methuselah!
DeleteThat is remarkable, inspiring growth; so glad you documented it.
ReplyDeleteYou've inspired my biggest gardening resolution of 2016: grow some white oaks from acorns! Already here are a pin and red oak planted 60 years ago, a couple of scarlet oaks planted in the 1990s, and an impressively fast-growing scarlet oak or maybe a hybrid, squirrel-planted about a decade ago.
The trees are what worry me most in a prolonged drought; here's hoping your winter rains are a bit more long-lasting this year.
An article I read said they were best grown from a fresh acorn from a tree in the area, so that is what I did. The landscapers planted a 48" box oak when we had the original landscaping done and it died within a few months.
DeleteThe LAT ran several reminders that trees need water, to let the grass die and give water to the trees.
Hope you find your acorns and plant them; that is a wonderful gardening resolution for this year--the world needs more oaks!
wow, it looks especially wonderful when backlit. And how amazing that it's grown so much from a little acorn.
ReplyDeleteIt's been fun to watch. For the first couple of years it was so small it wasn't really there--just the past year it's begun to be a presence in that area.
DeleteSeven feet in five years - that's pretty respectable. I love thinking it came from the neighborhood, so the soil composition there is optimal for its growth. Go, little adolescent Quercus,
ReplyDeleteI think I read they get to about 15' fairly quickly, and then slow way down. I did read that these CA native oaks adapt to a very small local area--the trees within a mile or two are different even from those a couple miles away.
DeleteIt is lovely to see the images of the stages of your oak from a sprouted acorn to a seedling and now a healthy, living tree. Baby plants always look so beautiful, just like puppies and kittens. I hope your tree gives you many years of green beauty.
ReplyDeletexoxoxo ♡
I will do my best to give Baby Q. what it needs, and not give it what it doesn't. :)
DeleteIt just might outlive you. Thirty years ago we all thought we'd be in flying cars by now so maybe that tree has a spot in the future. :o)
ReplyDeleteI hope it does! Hopefully a big, big spot. :)
Delete...if you ever get up to Avila Beach, the huge oaks that canopy over the Bob Jones Walking path near the frontage road start point are magnificent. Must be couple of centuries old. My younguns are approaching 25 years, thanks to their scrub jay planters. Your blog photos and musings are always a delight. So glad to have stumbled upon you. Good luck with the eyes. I had a retinal wrinkle a year or two ago. Scared the living daylights out of me. Take care!
ReplyDeleteThank you teejay!
DeleteI have dreams of getting up in that area again after enjoying Cambria, (perhaps for the Native Sons open house) and a walk under oaks along that trail sounds wonderful--thanks for the recommendation.