A magnificent bur oak

Venerable bur oak in a farm field

A magnificent bur oak growing in a pasture in Woodford County, KY has lessons for us about managing old trees.

The tree is a huge old bur oak that lost its top a long time ago, probably to lightning. Like many old trees, this tree has completely recovered by building a new crown. This process, sometimes called retrenchment, is very common in old in the Bluegrass. The tree now resembles many of the ancient European oaks.

This tree has some important lessons for our management of venerable trees. Lightning strikes are very common in trees in woodland pastures but are rarely fatal. Left to their own devices, lightning struck trees can rebuild a new crown and can live a very long life. The second lesson is that crowns are not permanent structures in old trees – they are easily replaced.

An old bur oak in a woodland pasture — Venerable bur oak in a farm field

Broken top of an old bur oak — Broken top of the old bur oak

Lightning scar in an old bur oak — Ligntning scar in the old bur oak