This is off of Bennie Simpson's site,
http://dallas.tamu.edu/native/index.html and describes your tree in the
following way: =


http://horticulture.tamu.edu:7998/or...namentals&-fo=
rmat=3Dnativesdetail.html&-lay=3Dlayout%20%231&-sortfield=3Dspecies&infos=
ource=3DTexas%20native%20trees&common%20name=3Dbur %20oak&-recid=3D32993&-=
find=3D

Many other websites state it is a slow grower. It grows better in wetter
areas. Its taprrot is twice as long as its height. You prob have great
soil and a high water table. You also may have over-fertized it
somewhat.

I'm sure some of this ng's arborists have some feedback for you.


Roland Saldanha wrote:
=

I have a young Bur Oak on the front lawn. I estimate it has grown clos=
e
to 4-5 feet in height from July to now! (currently stands at about 20
feet). Every time I water the lawn (every week =AD10 days if there is =
no
rain) it seems to respond with more growth! In July I fertilized with t=
ree
spikes from Callahan=B9s using amounts based on the diameter at breast
height as suggested on the packets (current diameter about 5 inches). =
I
have not fertilized the lawn. Everything I read says Bur oaks grow slo=
w
(for example Sally Wasowski in Native Texas Plants, says a young Bur oa=
k
on her property grew about 12 feet in 9 years. Other sources give rang=
es
of 1-2 feet a year in natural stands of saplings depending on weather.
So my 4-5 feet of growth seems like a lot.
=

I do not believe I am over watering. Since I followed directions on th=
e
tree spikes I assume I have not over fertilized though this is a
possibility. I am concerned that the tree may be growing too fast and=

the wood will be weak. I would appreciate any insights into how fast i=
s
too fast for this kind of tree. Secondly, I am curious as to how I sho=
uld
manage the situation to keep both lawn and tree happy.
=

Lastly does anybody have good data on rate of growth of urban trees, th=
eir
response to fertilizer (either directly applied or applied when feeding=
a
lawn) and the ultimate longevity/strength of the tree?
=

Roland

-- =

J Kolenovsky, A+, Network +, MCP
=F4=BF=F4 - http://www.hal-pc.org/~garden/reference.html

In article ,
(Victor M. Martinez) wrote:

Roland Saldanha wrote:

I think the explanation is in the wet and mild summer we had this year.
All the bur oaks I've seen in town have had multiple growth spurts this
season, which is unusual. Our own lacey oak (a rather slow-growing species)
has doubled in height this year. Count your blessings, 'cause summers like
these don't come often in Central Texas.


--
Victor M. Martinez


I am counting my blessings, but I am also feeling a bit greedy and would
like to know what price I will pay if I act on my greed : seeing how the
trees responded to water/fertilizer, I felt I could continue to push the
growth say next year (if it is dry) with similar heavy periodic watering
appropriate ferterlizing. I am assuming the tree will respond with
growth. My question though is will I pay a price in weaker wood/shorter
life of the tree? Real data is hard to come by: for the really old trees
we have no detailed knowledge about the cultural practices when they were
planted. Anecdotally however I have read that "new" lumber is not as
strong as old growth lumber the logic being the old trees were perpetually
stressed because they were packed togethr and grew much slower with
denser wood. Contrariwise, I have read that both old and new growth
trees grew equally fast for the first eighty years. It is only after that
that the tree rings become denser and older treese simply have more of the
dense lumber prized by woodworkers. I would like to find a source with
primary data that I can rely on rather than anecdotal stuff that I have
relayed above.

Currently, I am leaning towards a 1/4- 1/2" dillo dirt for the lawn to
avoid pushing the tree towards too much growth. However if I know I can
push the tree growth safely, I would probably do the dillo dirt + tree
spikes or something similar.

Roland

Roland Saldanha wrote in message
...
I have a young Bur Oak on the front lawn. I estimate it has grown close
to 4-5 feet in height from July to now! (currently stands at about 20
feet). Every time I water the lawn (every week *10 days if there is no
rain) it seems to respond with more growth! In July I fertilized with tree
spikes from Callahan¹s using amounts based on the diameter at breast
height as suggested on the packets (current diameter about 5 inches). I
have not fertilized the lawn. Everything I read says Bur oaks grow slow
(for example Sally Wasowski in Native Texas Plants, says a young Bur oak
on her property grew about 12 feet in 9 years. Other sources give ranges
of 1-2 feet a year in natural stands of saplings depending on weather.
So my 4-5 feet of growth seems like a lot.

We had a young bur oak (we sold the place; the tree is still there) that
grew a full 36 inches from the beginning of June to the end of August. In
three years, it grew a total of about 7 feet, starting from an acorn. As for
the over-fertilizing issue ... well, maybe. I should say that the last 24
inches of growth happened quite rapidly, and they happened about 2 weeks
after I buried a kitten that had died at the base of the tree. So I don't
know if that had anything to do with it, but I always did wonder.

My tree seemed to be in good health, despite the rapid growth, but it was
rather whippy in the wind. I bought some long, thin boards (I'm a rotten
carpenter so I have forgotten what they are called, but the actual
measurements were about 1/2" x 1 1/2", and 8 feet long), sharpened them, and
made super-stakes for the tree. Tied it up with strips cut from nylon
stockings. Worked beautifully.

- jordan

This is off of Bennie Simpson's site,
http://dallas.tamu.edu/native/index.html and describes your tree in the
following way: =


http://horticulture.tamu.edu:7998/or...namentals&-fo=
rmat=3Dnativesdetail.html&-lay=3Dlayout%20%231&-sortfield=3Dspecies&infos=
ource=3DTexas%20native%20trees&common%20name=3Dbur %20oak&-recid=3D32993&-=
find=3D

Many other websites state it is a slow grower. It grows better in wetter
areas. Its taprrot is twice as long as its height. You prob have great
soil and a high water table. You also may have over-fertized it
somewhat.

I'm sure some of this ng's arborists have some feedback for you.


Roland Saldanha wrote:
=

I have a young Bur Oak on the front lawn. I estimate it has grown clos=
e
to 4-5 feet in height from July to now! (currently stands at about 20
feet). Every time I water the lawn (every week =AD10 days if there is =
no
rain) it seems to respond with more growth! In July I fertilized with t=
ree
spikes from Callahan=B9s using amounts based on the diameter at breast
height as suggested on the packets (current diameter about 5 inches). =
I
have not fertilized the lawn. Everything I read says Bur oaks grow slo=
w
(for example Sally Wasowski in Native Texas Plants, says a young Bur oa=
k
on her property grew about 12 feet in 9 years. Other sources give rang=
es
of 1-2 feet a year in natural stands of saplings depending on weather.
So my 4-5 feet of growth seems like a lot.
=

I do not believe I am over watering. Since I followed directions on th=
e
tree spikes I assume I have not over fertilized though this is a
possibility. I am concerned that the tree may be growing too fast and=

the wood will be weak. I would appreciate any insights into how fast i=
s
too fast for this kind of tree. Secondly, I am curious as to how I sho=
uld
manage the situation to keep both lawn and tree happy.
=

Lastly does anybody have good data on rate of growth of urban trees, th=
eir
response to fertilizer (either directly applied or applied when feeding=
a
lawn) and the ultimate longevity/strength of the tree?
=

Roland

-- =

J Kolenovsky, A+, Network +, MCP
=F4=BF=F4 - http://www.hal-pc.org/~garden/reference.html

Roland Saldanha wrote:
I have a young Bur Oak on the front lawn. I estimate it has grown close
to 4-5 feet in height from July to now! (currently stands at about 20

I think the explanation is in the wet and mild summer we had this year.
All the bur oaks I've seen in town have had multiple growth spurts this
season, which is unusual. Our own lacey oak (a rather slow-growing species)
has doubled in height this year. Count your blessings, 'cause summers like
these don't come often in Central Texas.

I do not believe I am over watering. Since I followed directions on the

City water does not have the same effect on plants as rain does. I'm not sure
what's the reason, but plants respond to rain a whole lot more than regular
waterings.

possibility. I am concerned that the tree may be growing too fast and
the wood will be weak. I would appreciate any insights into how fast is

It should be fine.

too fast for this kind of tree. Secondly, I am curious as to how I should
manage the situation to keep both lawn and tree happy.

I'm assuming you have mulch around the tree. Just water deeply once every 4
or 5 days.

Cheers.

--
Victor M. Martinez | The University of Texas at Austin
| Department of Chemical Engineering
http://www.che.utexas.edu/~martiv | Austin, TX 78712
If we knew what we were doing it would not be called research, would it?

In article ,
(Victor M. Martinez) wrote:

Roland Saldanha wrote:

I think the explanation is in the wet and mild summer we had this year.
All the bur oaks I've seen in town have had multiple growth spurts this
season, which is unusual. Our own lacey oak (a rather slow-growing species)
has doubled in height this year. Count your blessings, 'cause summers like
these don't come often in Central Texas.


--
Victor M. Martinez


I am counting my blessings, but I am also feeling a bit greedy and would
like to know what price I will pay if I act on my greed : seeing how the
trees responded to water/fertilizer, I felt I could continue to push the
growth say next year (if it is dry) with similar heavy periodic watering
appropriate ferterlizing. I am assuming the tree will respond with
growth. My question though is will I pay a price in weaker wood/shorter
life of the tree? Real data is hard to come by: for the really old trees
we have no detailed knowledge about the cultural practices when they were
planted. Anecdotally however I have read that "new" lumber is not as
strong as old growth lumber the logic being the old trees were perpetually
stressed because they were packed togethr and grew much slower with
denser wood. Contrariwise, I have read that both old and new growth
trees grew equally fast for the first eighty years. It is only after that
that the tree rings become denser and older treese simply have more of the
dense lumber prized by woodworkers. I would like to find a source with
primary data that I can rely on rather than anecdotal stuff that I have
relayed above.

Currently, I am leaning towards a 1/4- 1/2" dillo dirt for the lawn to
avoid pushing the tree towards too much growth. However if I know I can
push the tree growth safely, I would probably do the dillo dirt + tree
spikes or something similar.

Roland

Roland Saldanha wrote in message
...
I have a young Bur Oak on the front lawn. I estimate it has grown close
to 4-5 feet in height from July to now! (currently stands at about 20
feet). Every time I water the lawn (every week *10 days if there is no
rain) it seems to respond with more growth! In July I fertilized with tree
spikes from Callahan¹s using amounts based on the diameter at breast
height as suggested on the packets (current diameter about 5 inches). I
have not fertilized the lawn. Everything I read says Bur oaks grow slow
(for example Sally Wasowski in Native Texas Plants, says a young Bur oak
on her property grew about 12 feet in 9 years. Other sources give ranges
of 1-2 feet a year in natural stands of saplings depending on weather.
So my 4-5 feet of growth seems like a lot.

We had a young bur oak (we sold the place; the tree is still there) that
grew a full 36 inches from the beginning of June to the end of August. In
three years, it grew a total of about 7 feet, starting from an acorn. As for
the over-fertilizing issue ... well, maybe. I should say that the last 24
inches of growth happened quite rapidly, and they happened about 2 weeks
after I buried a kitten that had died at the base of the tree. So I don't
know if that had anything to do with it, but I always did wonder.

My tree seemed to be in good health, despite the rapid growth, but it was
rather whippy in the wind. I bought some long, thin boards (I'm a rotten
carpenter so I have forgotten what they are called, but the actual
measurements were about 1/2" x 1 1/2", and 8 feet long), sharpened them, and
made super-stakes for the tree. Tied it up with strips cut from nylon
stockings. Worked beautifully.

- jordan