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 Callahanšs 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