Native Plants
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
rate this answer
Wednesday - September 03, 2008
From: Eatonville, WA
Region: Select Region
Topic: Trees
Title: How fast do trees grow?
Answered by: Damon Waitt
QUESTION:
Dear Mr. Smarty Plants I would like to know how to tell how much a tree will grow if the average of the trees are growing at the rate of approximately 3 to 3.5% annually. And how do they come up with that percentage. And how can we use that to keep an eye on the average growth on our trees. We thank you so very much for your time.ANSWER:
As you might suspect, different species of tree grow at different rates. Some are fast growing like Arizona ash and are prized by developers and homeowners for their quick growth pace. Others, like many oaks, are known for their slow growth. In general, their is an inverse correlation between a trees growth rate and its longevity. Fast growing tress tend to have shorter lifespans and slow growing trees longer lifespans. IMr. SP doesn't know where you got the 3.5 percentage but its is pretty easy to tell how fast your tress are growing. Simply examine a twig on any tree and note the terminal bud covered by small scales at the end of the twig. This is the growing tip of the twig. Now work backward until you find a spot on the twig encircled by several scars. These scars are left by the scales that covered the terminal bud in the previous year. The distance between the terminal bud scale scars and the terminal bud equals one years growth (see illustration). You should examine several twigs on the same tree to get an overall idea of how much growth occurred on that tree in the previous year. Using this technique compare the growth on different species to get an idea of how fast your trees are growing.
More Trees Questions
Small, slow-growing native tree for Houston
October 05, 2008 - Can you please recommend a pretty, small, slow growing tree for my bed centerpiece? It gets some sun/partial shade in front of my Houston area north facing home and must survive heat and some drought...
view the full question and answer
Problem with unknown tree in Austin, Texas
July 23, 2013 - Have recently moved to Austin, Texas and have a tree in my backyard that has been dropping leaves and one major branch appears to be dead. That branch has hard rust colored sap circles (about penny si...
view the full question and answer
Control of Juniperus ashei
August 08, 2007 - We have just purchased 2 acres in Burnet County at an elevation of 1604 feet above sea level. The land is almost flat, bedrock, with lots of Juniper, Cactus Apple and between these plants grasses and...
view the full question and answer
Need tree suggestions for a long, narrow strip in Folsom, CA.
January 18, 2012 - I live in Folsom, Ca. I have a long strip (50') of planting area about 2.5' wide at the top of a retaining wall to the fence behind it. I would like to plant alternating (2) trees down this strip to...
view the full question and answer
Failure of flameleaf sumacs to produce fruit
January 09, 2013 - Our two flame leaf sumacs produce none to little fruit. Both are about 4 years old, quite large, healthy looking; flowering this year was very good, but no fruit. What keeps them from producing fruit?
view the full question and answer
| Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |