We don't know, of course, how old our pin oak tree is, since it was a mature tree when we bought the house in 2000. But by measuring its circumference at chest height, I was able to estimate its date of birth to be 1946.
The tree has formed the center of our back yard, with its strong horizontal limbs holding three swings. One long lazy swing like my grandparents had when I was a kid, another big chair-type swing, and one that our grandkids love to swing on.
We have a few fox squirrels in the yard that spend time in its branches. But other than that, I haven't noticed much biological activity associated with the tree. That may be because it is not native to our area - we have few native oaks in northern Idaho.
Pin oaks are monoecious, which means that the same individual produces both male and female flowers. The male flowers are produced in catkins, about the time that the leavers begin to bud. The female flowers occur later, reducing the possibility of self fertilization. Pin oaks are wind pollinated and said to be self-incompatible, though I'm not sure that's because of the different flowering schedules of the male and female flowers, or whether they are truly self-incompatible. In any case, our oak rarely produces any acorns - though I have seen a few mature on our tree. Perhaps there is another Pin Oak in the neighborhood somewhere. Pin oaks line the north side of sixth street by the university, and their acorns are sometimes thick on the street as I ride by on my bike.
Pin oaks are native to eastern and central United States.
We don't know, of course, how old our pin oak tree is, since it was a mature tree when we bought the house in 2000. But by measuring its circumference at chest height, I was able to estimate its date of birth to be 1946.
The tree has formed the center of our back yard, with its strong horizontal limbs holding three swings. One long lazy swing like my grandparents had when I was a kid, another big chair-type swing, and one that our grandkids love to swing on.
We have a few fox squirrels in the yard that spend time in its branches. But other than that, I haven't noticed much biological activity associated with the tree. That may be because it is not native to our area - we have few native oaks in northern Idaho.
Pin oaks are monoecious, which means that the same individual produces both male and female flowers. The male flowers are produced in catkins, about the time that the leavers begin to bud. The female flowers occur later, reducing the possibility of self fertilization. Pin oaks are wind pollinated and said to be self-incompatible, though I'm not sure that's because of the different flowering schedules of the male and female flowers, or whether they are truly self-incompatible. In any case, our oak rarely produces any acorns - though I have seen a few mature on our tree. Perhaps there is another Pin Oak in the neighborhood somewhere. Pin oaks line the north side of sixth street by the university, and their acorns are sometimes thick on the street as I ride by on my bike.
Pin oaks are native to eastern and central United States.
