Placing The Age Of Your Tree Without Cutting It

Have you ever wondered how many years your favorite Maple tree has shaded your backyard? Of course, you could cut down your beloved tree to count its growth rings for a pretty accurate age. However, since you probably want to continue enjoying your Maple, we suggest that it makes a whole lot more sense for you to figure out the age of tree without cutting it down.

Dating a tree from the outside
Luckily, it’s possible to obtain a ballpark age for the trees in your yard without wielding an ax. Most non-cutting dating methods don’t require you to do much more than dust off your high school geometry skills to come up with the diameter of the tree. We found an easy to follow method along with interesting information on the background of the dating technique on the ThoughtCo website. The basics are

1. Use a tape measure to find a spot on the tree trunk that is 4.5 feet above the ground
2. Circle the tape measure around the trunk to determine the circumference of the tree 
3. Diameter = circumference x 3.14​  
4. Age= diameter x species growth factor

You need to know the growth factor for your tree as trees don’t all grow at the same rate. Check here for the growth factors of common species of trees.

Keep in mind that non-invasive techniques can only give you a rough guess as to the age of your tree because the actual growth rates reflect things like (1) water (2) sunlight (3) soil and (4) climate.

Reading a tree stump
Scientists have long stated that it’s possible to get a reasonably accurate estimate of the age of a tree by counting the rings visible on a horizontal cut of the tree. Dendrochronology, the fancy name for using tree rings to determine such things as the age of a tree, is based on the theory that a tree undergoes an annual growth period that shows up within the tree as a ring.

Tree stumps are a goldmine of information. Not only do they reveal an approximate age of the tree at the time that it was cut down, but they also give researchers essential data about the environmental conditions over time in that area. Scientists use the data from thousands of tree stumps to help us to better understand climate change over time.

Final Thoughts
Did you know that the tree stump in your yard was such a vital record keeper? Take a few minutes to count the growth rings on your resident tree stump to learn more about the natural history of your home.

The professional tree stump experts at Buffalo Stump Removal are also fascinated by the trees, and tree stumps present all over our community. Contact us today for complete information about affordable ways to minimize tree stump issues in your outdoor environment.​

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