help needed preserving the memory of a much-loved tree

dlove

Hi all,

I'm somewhat new to this forum. I stumbled upon it in trying to do some research about an old white oak I recently lost

I'd like to apologize for the length of this post, as it is somewhat long-winded, though I feel necessary to illicit the most helpful response

For those living in the North Carolina area of the United States, most of us are familiar with the damage done in late April of this year by the multitude of tornadoes that struck the area and devastated the region. Though I was one of the fortunate survivors with no injuries, or little "property" damage to speak of, I did lose a dear and seemingly permanent fixture in my life, one of my white oak trees

I have several trees of varying species in my yard, three of which are very large white oaks. This one in particular though was the largest tree, very large for its kind, standing well over 100 feet tall, 6 feet across at the base of the trunk and estimated by a local arborist to be at least 250+ years old. It was so massive that, while on the ground, it looked as though, from a distance, it had not actually fallen, due to the incredible size of the branching. I have lived in my current house for over 20 years, I grew up here, and the loss of this tree has been devastating to me. Needless to say it could not be saved, and the best I could do was to have it hauled away, as none of the wood was salvageable (the explanation I received was that the majority of the wood could not be used due to the way in which the tree had fallen, having twisted the main trunk and most of the lower limbs)

Though it has been several months, I still miss it dearly, and, as strange as it may sound, I would like to pay some kind of homage to the tree. I was able to save a sizeable portion of the main trunk, part of which I was informed was the "heartwood", and I've had it sitting (out of direct sunlight) under the shade of one of my other large oak trees, ensuring to saturate it thoroughly with water on a regular basis to keep it from drying out

This is my question ...

I was wondering if there is any way to use some type of sealant on the wood to preserve it from water / insect damage / decomposition in order to situate this particular piece in the spot where the tree used to be, as a kind of memorial of the tree. I know this might sound a bit silly, but it was an important fixture in my life, and I would like to keep its memory alive

The problem is that I unfortunately do not know a great deal about the science of trees, only that I like them dearly. I do not plan to do a lot of finishing to the piece of the trunk itself. I would rather keep it in as raw a form as possible, with the bark (there is still some on one side) remaining intact if possible. I simply would like to seal it permanently (if such a thing can be done) in order to create a kind of permanent memorial for it. I was wondering if this can be done and how, and what product could possibly be used for this. I'm a fairly handy guy, but this one is somewhat out of my area of expertise

Whatever help or advice anyone can provide would be greatly appreciated

I sincerely thank you for your time and for this forum, for providing the shared knowledge of so many experts.

Thank you for your time,

David

George Valentine

Hi David,

I'm sorry to hear your loss, trees can in many cases become part of your identity, loosing them can hurt considerably, I know...!

When I'm cutting a tree that has special significance to its owners, the first thing I offer to make is a turned item, normally a bowl but many other pieces are possible, only limited by your imagination...!

In your case, and it would help considerably if we could have some pics of the piece you kept for that special tree. The piece size and shape could attract some other ideas that you could be pleased to consider also.

There are some wood stabilizers that will preserve the wood from all the fungi and any other type creatures that normally feed on wood, however, and depending of the piece size, the wood after treated could be casted in clear resin, this could require some serious planning, preparation and expense, particularly for the resin volume required.

At this point, I really would like to see some pics and have some measurements of this piece of wood/trunk, as I'm certain that I, and some other members here, could come up with a few options for you...!

You being a "handy bloke", will make things a lot easier to achieve results, you only need to learn your options, and that, "I/we" can help you with...!

Pics, please...!

Cheers
George

Brent Ferris

There is a product offered by Lee Valley called LogSealer or EndSealer that is painted on the ends of the piece of wood to allow the wood to dry out with minimal/no cracking. Goes on white, dries clear. Wood dries at an average rate of 1"thickness/year, white oak takes longer. The bark will fall off, but you may be able to glue it back on. But if you have bark, you must have the whole of the trunk - heartwood is in the centre.

I am sorry for your loss. Losing such an old tree is always hurtful. Unless you counted the rings, I would expect the tree to have been closer to 400-600 years old.

__________________
My business: Tree Pruning and Removals -- Strump Removals -- Advice -- Consulting -- Arborist Reports
If you want an honest opinion, call Brent Ferris...because, Trees want to Live Too !
We do great jobs, even in small yards.

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dlove

Hi George, treeshaveneeds, and all,

I apologize for the delay in my response (it's been quite a long day of yard work)

Thank you for your condolences. It hasn't been easy explaining to some folks why the loss is so upsetting, but it's good to know there are people who understand

Regarding the questions asked and the request for photos, I decided to include links to some pictures of the portion of the tree I was able to keep (apologies for the diet 7up can, it was the only object I could find to use as a reference of scale)

(Sadly, as you can see in the first picture, I also lost one of my pecan trees last week during the hurricane ... it's been a rough year for our trees here in NC)







The measurements of the piece are hard to convey exactly, as it is oddly shaped from having been split off of the tree, but at its widest / longest protrusions, it is:

47" (120 cm) long
32" (81 cm) wide
28.5" (72 cm) high

Regarding turned items, such as bowls, etc., I did commission a local woodworker to turn a bench from one of the larger limbs. He has already milled the wood and last I checked it he had it on a rack curing I believe. However, I would like to somehow apply sealant to this particular piece (the one pictured here) and have it placed outside where the tree used to stand, pretty much in its current form (though I would imagine some cleaning and sanding might be required to smooth out the rough face of the inside, visible on picture tree02, but other than that, I would like to arrange it just as it is, if possible

Just as an FYI - treeshaveneeds - I was, unfortunately, unable to calculate the exact age of the tree, as the inside near the base of the trunk was starting to hollow out (the tornado didn't actually snap or break the tree in any way, it quite literally pulled it straight up out of the ground and dropped it on its side, so that it was largely intact, with the exception of the limbs supporting its weight on the ground, which broke under the weight), so even though you could see into the base of the trunk, it was somewhat hollow inside towards the front. I estimated the root ball to be about 20 feet (6 meters) high as it was lying on its side. Unfortunately, since no one in the immediate area had a chainsaw capable of handling the tree, it had to be removed by, what looked like to me to be an excavator, using the arm and the claw to break the tree down piece by piece and load it. This, unfortunately, made any chance of counting the rings close to impossible, since I was unable to find anyone with a chainsaw large enough to cut the main trunk

Regarding the LogSealer, is this a sealant that can be used to protect an untreated piece such as this from water / insect / decomposition damage? Is it something that should be re-applied regularly? Also, I'm not entirely sure if the piece I have includes part of the heartwood, but as you can (hopefully) see from the pictures, it's a chunk including the outer bark as well as some of the inner wood. Again, due to the way this was broken up by the equipment, I'm not even entirely sure this was part of the trunk, as the tree had many sizeable limbs, but it was indeed a very large tree

I would certainly appreciate any advice you could provide as how to preserve this piece in an outdoor setting. Money and my limited knowledge of this subject matter are factors, but I'm confident there is a solution somewhere

- David

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Brent Ferris

The logsealer is a product that is applied to help the wood dry, until something is done with it. It will NOT help with insects, and only helps with decomposing in that drier wood attracts fewer kinds of fungi. I would keep the wood off the ground by 1-2 inches to minimize insect and fungal attack from the ground.

Once the wood is dry, the ends can be sliced off (a good tree company should have a saw to cut the piece, and the logsealer is waxy, stopping the application of anything else soaking in) and then sealed with say a marine varnish, that would normally be reapplied every year or so. The pricier varnishes don't go far, but last the longest. A clear stain is also worth considering, and considerably easier to apply more coats (as years go along).

You might consider getting someone to inscribe info about the tree - size, species, reason for falling -- on the piece or on a stand nearby. Memories are not always the best.

Age wise, count the rings on the piece you have. If it is about 47" in diameter, and your piece is 32" deep, your piece may show the pith - so you can estimate the age of the tree from this piece. (Even if the pith doesn't show, the reducing diameter of the rings often allows one to guesstimate how much of the growth is missing)
White oak, when young generally extends 4-8" per year (vertically). If you can estimate how high this piece might have been in the tree, you can add on extra years. These guesses will help you give a range to the age. I expect you will need a magnifying glass - sometimes annual growth can be extremely small. Before this, I have counted 50 years or more in one inch of radial growth; and with white oak, I have counted under 10 years.

But a tree of this size will have seen a lot of history, and a good dendrochronologist and a knowledgeable arborist can help explain the past this tree has seen. Oftentimes, creating a visual aid to describe the historical events the tree has experienced, adds more value to the piece you have -- for yourself, and anyone interested in looking.

I know if I had a property, with a tree that size on it, and it came down unexpectedly, I would be upset for months.

__________________
My business: Tree Pruning and Removals -- Strump Removals -- Advice -- Consulting -- Arborist Reports
If you want an honest opinion, call Brent Ferris...because, Trees want to Live Too !
We do great jobs, even in small yards.

Free Estimates Oakville to Oshawa - North to Bradford (Will travel further if cost of travelling covered)