Well the previous photo of the acorn, Fred calls "Crestwood" here is three other bigguns. One is a swamp white oak/ burr oak hybrid, the middle one is called "Overflow Pond" and the last one is a seedling of "Crestwood" not overflow pond as I wrote down on the piece of paper.

Hmm...not sure if its a live oak at all. It appears to be a Laurel Oak, which can look like a Virginiana Live Oak from tree to tree. A couple of differences, the Tree in the photo has multiple trunks, Live oaks have a single trunk with spreading branches. In Laurel Oaks, it's not uncommon to have a multi-trunk tree. Both trees stay green year round and then push out new leaves in Spring, both have leathery leaves. However, in the Laurel Oak the leaf may appear a yellowish green or olive green in winter. Kind of an unusual new growth cluster for a live oak, havent seen that before, but I guess not impossible. It's not a Fusiformis, also a single trunk tree, but Fusiformis leaves are different from Virginiana and Definately Laurel Oaks. Fusiformis have the characteristic bump on the leaves from young new growth until almost fully mature, when the leaves smoothen out, and even on most Fusiformis there are some mature leaves that retain the bump. This s not evident on the leaves in the photo. Last, Fusiformis do not have that 5 leaf growth pattern, they are all over the place, but generally grow in two's with every new 2 leaves offset 180 degrees. Laurel Oaks grow somewhat more northerly than Southern Live Oaks, throughout most of Virginia, North Carolina and some maps even showing a tiny portion of extreme SE Pennslyvania. Laurel Oaks are more cold hardy, down to -10. Still even if it's a Laurel Oak, kind of rare for northern Kentucky. I would like to see an acorn from the tree, that would really tell a lot.

Hello Marshall, Brandan and others, Thanks for your interest in Whole Systems Ag and I am glad you enjoyed Dr B's paper. I think it's one of the best I've seen on oaks. Yes, I've visited the Santa Barbara museum many times when my family was living in Thousand Oaks. The botanic garden was a particularly nice attraction because, at the time, I was doing a lot of work with native plants. I checked out the PGI and that looks like a kind of Jungian place. I had a big interest in that stripe of psychology at that time too. At present, my work on the farm and with the tasks in front of my nose keep me from the more academic pursuits I once enjoyed. The garden at Pacifica sounds like a wonderful endeavor. Indeed, I'd be delighted if you should come for a visit. I seldom leave the farm so one time is about as good as another. It's easy to find just 6 miles or so north of the San Joaquin River on Highway 41 toward Yosemite. Send me a personal email at daddyoat@netptc.net and I'll return detailed directions.

We bought one of these from the local health food store (!) about five years ago. We are both foresters, so we knew how to plant it and how care for it. This tree is absolutely amazing. It grows two feet or so per season (and we are in far northern WI, so the season is short). The habit seems to be upright growth with both straight and crooked laterals. I keep pruning it to keep the branches above our heads. It is growing in a less than optimum place--near a cedar hedge, sidwalk and driveway-and it still grows superbly. the soil is a well-drained fertile very sandy loam, which obviously agrees with the tree. The squirrels go nuts over the acorns--I never get even one to use in decorations. They harvest them all, when they are still green, in a mad frenzy of grabbing acorns and shredding leaves. The acorns that the squirrels forget readily sprout in the grass. All in all, a great tree to have around.