Anyone have a clue how old a 14-inch DBH black locust is? A couple years ago, I found the first black locust trees I've ever seen around here but none of them were over 4-6 inch DBH. Today, I spotted what appears to be one that is about 14-inch DBH. I couldn't get near enough to confirm but the leaves and bark look like BL. I know they grow fast early but a 14-incher, I don't have an estimate. Am very curious how long they have been in these parts. Typically, maps I have seen show the southern border of the range north of here.
I've seen black locust with 1/16" wide growth rings, and I've seen it with 3/8" growth rings. My point being it's hard to tell without cutting it open or doing a core of the tree. Could be 20 years old, could be 50. The ones I grew from seed last year are 3'-4' tall and have about a 5/16" stem so far.
Very true Eric. I cut one up a couple weeks ago and just went out to count it. 15" in diameter and 26 growth rings.
The growth can vary depending on its location. BL loves lots of sun. Ive seen them with tight rings and last year i had one with some rings close to 3/4" apart and it was a larger tree. IME i would say that tree is around 25 years old, maybe less as you have a longer growing season down there.
Ok, 25 years seems reasonable and that fits my expectations in that I think BL arrival here is fairly recent. (25 yrs being recent!) But I'll keep my eyes out for an even bigger one.
I use to see a bunch of them as a child here ( northeast Oklahoma). Have not seen one over 3” in years. I am sure they are around but not in my woods. Of course most of my wood historically comes from standing dead so a lot of elm and oak here.
Keep in mind the bark takes up a good amount of the diameter. I seldom see them over 20" here. 24" the largest ive ever cut. More or less a "weed" tree here.
Question- does the bark fall off similar to an elm when the locust dies ? I may actually have one at the yard and not know it.
It does but not like elm. IME if it holds onto the bark there's a hollow or interior rot. Standing dead will stay for years and not rot. The bark falls off and the wood weathers nice and clean. In a perfect hoarders world all of the BL i score would look like that. Usually takes 3-4 years for that to happen. Most of the stuff i scrounge is either blowover or clean up wood left behind.
There are a few in our local area of VT that are about that size Brad. I’ll see if I can get some pics.
That was from a score i found just by chance. Tree service taking them down. I stopped, asked and got the okay. Cant say i know of a bigger one ive seen in the area. Did you burn any of that BL i gave you?
I cut some between sixty and seventy years old all less than two feet in diameter!! So much hollows and bad spots, I bet out of the eleven loads I culled 35%(being conservative) to the burning pile!! Debarked it too, if the bark is slipping it comes off pretty easy!!!
My parents have a little grove of BL out by the road...they've been "big trees" all my life and I don't think a one of them is over 16" diameter, not much over if any at all.
A few today in Southern Vermont. This is right near the banks of the West River in Brattleboro. I’m sure these are loaded with metal as one has a light on it and the other a sign. We were out for a ride on the mountain bikes on the West River Trail.
I just got my first small scrounge of BL in Alabama. It was just a large branch that was blown off in a storm a few days ago. I was able to fill up the back seat of the car three times, but I left a few big knotty pieces and a bunch of 4-6" branches that were too long for the width of the car seat. It was like riding up hill all the way home. LOL! I'll have to take a few pics of the pile, maybe 1/6 to 1/4 cord once split... Not bad for a roadside find. Heavy Stuff too! Size on one of the larger pieces was 21.5 inches diameter with 26 growth rings. Not sure how thick trunk was, but the limb broke off about 25 feet up.
Aw, post it here! I wanna see a limb off a BL that is 21 inch DBA! If that's BL, that is a whopper based on everything I have read/seen.
