How can you tell the age of a (live) oak tree?
You’re not going to be able to efficiently core a 7 foot diameter tree, without busting a drill-bit (because of the density of the wood). The best way to age it is to look up the deed history to the property on which the tree is positioned on. Also while you are doing this, look up the timber harvesting history as well. If the tree was left alone during harvesting operations, and every tree was cleared around it…then horizontal growth would increase rapidly. This could easily fool anyone into over-guessing the actual age of the tree. If the oak was 1 to 2 thousand years old, then the tree would be in a serious state of decline with limited amount of foliate on it. Oaks are not a species which would be able to survive that long of a time, and still maintain a healthy and full crown. Overall though, you will not be able to tell the full-age of the tree until it has died and you can cut it down and count the growth rings.
