How old is that tree?
If you have ever wondered, ‘how
old is that tree?’, here is a simple worksheet which will give you a rough
idea. Because this is an
American source, you will need to convert
your diameter calculation into inches by dividing
by
2.54.
And once you know, it’s fun to ponder what our
community looked like when your tree
was
young!
Instructions
1. Determine
the tree’s diameter (inches) at a height of 4.5 feet from the
ground.
Diameter = circumference / 3.14 inches
2. Use the
table below. The table assigns a growth factor to various tree
species.
Multiply the diameter (inches) by the appropriate growth factor.
Example:
Your cottonwood tree has a diameter of 18 inches at 4.5 feet from the
ground.
18 inches x 2 = 36 years (estimate)
Note: Growth
factor numbers are most accurate for trees grown in healthy forests. Street
and urban trees often are exposed to stressors such as poor soils, damage
from machines and equipment, restricted growing areas, etc. Street and urban
trees have different growth factors and they tend to grow more slowly and be
weaker than healthy forest-grown trees.
Species
Growth Factor
Aspen spp. = 2
American
elm = 4
Austrian pine = 4.5
Basswood = 3
Birch,
paper = 5
Black cherry = 5
Black maple =
5
Black walnut = 4.5
Colorado blue spruce =
4.5
Cottonwood = 2
Green ash = 4
Ironwood =
7
Kentucky coffee tree = 3
Northern red oak =
4
Norway maple = 4.5
Red maple = 4.5
Red pine =
5.5
River birch = 3.5
Scotch pine =
3.5
Shagbark hickory = 7.5
Silver maple =
3
Sugar maple = 5.5
White oak = 5
White pine =
5
Free Backyard Tree Planting Program
Free Backyard Tree Planting
Program coming to CW to Celebrate Canada 150!
Here’s
your chance to make a lasting contribution to your neighbourhood by adding a
Sesquicentennial native tree to your yard. NeighbourWoods, in
partnership with Green Legacy, Little Tree and four local arborists, is pilot
testing a new and innovative program to boost the number of trees in our
community.
Here’s how it works:
Residents who hire one
of the participating arborists to cut down a tree – for example a dying Ash
– will be offered one free replacement.  Customers have 2
options:
1)Â Â Â A 3-4-foot paper birch, white
spruce or sugar maple provided by Green Legacy.  Your arborist
can recommend which species is best suited to your site AND will even plant
it for you.
2)Â Â Â For customers who prefer a
bigger tree, a coupon for 15% off a tree purchased from Little Tree
Garden Market. Â Little Tree offers a delivery and planting
service.
Participating arborists are:
Arborite
Tree Care 519-993-3340
Baum Tree Care 226-383-2286
CREO Concepts
Inc. 519-843-2087
Full Circle Tree Service
519-827-9408
MW Tree Service 519-831-9848
Out of Your
Tree Care 226-820-3611
If you are interested in taking advantage of
this program, call soon because this offer is good until June 30 or until the
trees are gone.
If this new idea catches on, perhaps it can
become a program offered in the future – and even replicated in other
communities in Ontario.
For more information about
NeighbourWoods or this Program, please contact Toni Ellis, Coordinator, at
519-362-9469 or by email at
neighbourwoods@eloraenvironmentcentre.ca
Year in Review
Here is a look at everything
Neighbourwoods has been up to this summer with our 2018
Summer in Review.
Citizen Pruner Workshop
Saturday, June 23: 9:30 to 3:30 PM in Elora.
Last summer in Elora/Fergus we ran a very successful Citizen Pruner program, with volunteers pruning around 150 trees. Not only did we help those trees avoid more drastic pruning down the road, but we offered up a very successful – and popular – volunteer program.
Join us for a Citizen Pruner Workshop on Saturday, June 23 in Elora. Find out everything you need to know to implement this innovative program in YOUR community. You will learn how to equip your volunteers to safely prune young trees.
The workshop will include:
- A presentation from certified arborist Chris Morrison (of Storm Water Forestry) to equip volunteers with information about how at tree grows and how to properly and safely prune a tree,
- how we organized the program and,
- field practice with Chris, pruning some local trees.
See you there!
