How old is the oldest tree in Fern Valley?
The oldest tree in Fern Valley is probably about 240 years old. We have determined this by counting the annual rings on trees that have been blown over in a few severe storms. Hurricane Isabel in 2004 brought down a perfectly healthy, but very lopsided white oak near the Fern Valley pond. This tree still lies across the path near the Fern Valley pond, where you can count its 230 annual rings. There are a few additional oaks in Fern Valley that seem to be the same age as that fallen giant, like another tree that fell a few years earlier and had an annual ring count of 240. Both of these trees grew near the Fern Valley stream, protected from being cut to make way for farming that took place on much of the arboretum grounds.
