I haven't gone that far with this one, because it is bedraggled from its fight with humans, time, and the elements. I didn't want to correct anyone, but this one is actually a black locust, or robinia species. They would be indistinguishable in a picture like this from a honey locust, or gleditisia. I contacted an dendrologist from a reputable arboretum and he said it may be one of the oldest in the state. It would, however, lose points for crown spread because of the branches not only felled in storms, but sawn off for the utility company to run power lines. I nearly had a conniption fit when the dh OK'd that one. Of course it's hollow, and I can easily stand inside it, and maybe even have a tea party. LOL. The man who owned this farm before he sold this part of the property said a child who once lived in this house tried to burn it down. You can still see the char. I guess this is one reason I am in such awe of it, it has persisted through all these insults. I brought a Greenman plaque back from England with me once, and it sits inside the tree now, guarding it from mischief.

Resin: Interesting. I have seen lots and lots of Sitka spruce growing along the northwest Pacific coast here. It seems thay can withstand and grow in any kind of wind, including winds with salt. But they are often reduced to krumholtz in the most extremely exposed places. The reaction of Noble fir really surprizes me, because it doesn't usually, as far as I know, grow in areas exposed to much wind. the Noble fir I have seen has been in dense forest stands not that high up on mountains. More usually I see it in coves and valleys. Zephyr: I think having the poplars planted just 20 feet from the NS is too close. The partial shading of the spruce foliage on that side will cause it to be more thin. I hope this doesn't destroy your plans, but I would not plant the poplar closer than 40 feet, unless they are some very narrow fastigate form. If your poplars are that kind, then maybe 30 feet would be OK. All I can recommend for your white spruces would be mulch. We will just have to wait and see how they do this year. The high production of cones may not mean anything except, sometimes, stress induced trees tend to produce more cones. I have to admit I am not that familiar with white spruce. I have about an acre of it growing at my Maryland timberland, but I have not seen how it reacts to different environments and/or kinds of stress. Norway spruce is amazingly resiliant--I have seen them suffering from all kinds of stress, becoming very weak, and then in two or three years recover to full vigor. Many spruces react to various things very much alike. I would have hope that your white spruce, in another two or three years, will begin to look fine. But it may be that they just don't like as much wind as you have there. As for the NS seedling survival--these trees have good drought resistance, including little seedlings. When I planted seedlings at my place in the Maryland mountains, I normally did not have to water them at all. But where I planted them there was not much wind, and the climate was cool. Here in Northern Virginia, where it is very hot, and where we have extended dry spells virtually every year, watering is essential. Trees that grow in place naturally from seed usually don't need any watering. As the roots grow they are "blended" (I can't think of a better word right now) with the soil. Seedlings that are grown and then transplanted need a year or a bit more to have their roots "blended" naturally into the soil, so they are prone to drying out. Maybe the issue is as much the structure of the soil. When a tree is transplanted the soil is dug and broken up and mixed in a way that can affect the movement of moisture through it. But, if you have a wet year, and/or don't have any significant dry spells, you may not have to water at all. All soils are different, but here in the soils we have, if I can get the roots properly spread out and down about 15 inches deep, after a good rain with good starting soil moisture, it takes about 14 days without rain for me to be concerned about watering seedlings. If the roots don't go that deep, maybe 7 to 10 days. but, of course, all sites are different. I would plant the trees with great optimism that you will get some normal rain and may not have to water that much. --Spruce

Yes and while you are at it, plant two new oak trees, each no larger than 6 feet tall , and only a short distance away from each of your mature damaged trees. The benefit of doing this is for those new oaks you plant to get well established over the next couple years. I mean, that is, if over time your vandelized oaks should begin to decline following one of your summer's dry and most hot periods. And yes: set up several cameras to catch anyone who might attempt to destroy your newly planted oaks. If your mature trees go into shock or begin to have such internal damage that they must be removed for safety reasons, then you will be so happy to that you already planted replacement trees in time for them to have established well by the time the old trees must be removed. Do not wait to plant your replacement trees, because Oak trees that size can take 3 years to become established well enough to begin putting on nice amounts of new growth each year. Do not worry about planting your new trees too close to the old oaks, because if your older oaks are pruned high enough for walking or mowing under them, than there should be plenty room for your newly planted oaks during the number of years you will need to determine if your older oaks will recover properly or not. If your older trees do not die by August of 2010 or before then it might be a good 5 more years before you can know for certain that your old oaks have recovered and that they do not have a decaying internal trunk that would make the trees serious, or even life-risk accidents waiting to happen. 7 years down the road, if your old oaks by then have not died, and if an arborist can prove that they do not have hidden damage, which could make the trees too risky to keep, then at that time the replacement oaks you plant now could simply be cut down if you find they are no longer needed.

Update - so we're now one month later. The tree guy who normally cuts my trees each year suggested I spray the tree with a Bayer product (can't remember which, but we did this and even though it was outside, the spray fumes made us cough and almost vomit!). I had a "tree doctor" come out and he said it was a combination of excessive heat (we did have two times this summer when we had several days of 115 degrees in a row); plus insects - he found a couple of large exit holes - see pics; and not enough water. Not sure about the excessive heat and not enough water comments as this tree has thrived over the past 28 years. (that said, Thanks to LazyGardens for the info on tree lifespan). In any event, I paid him $220 to inject my two pepper trees with a growth stimulator, fungicide and fast-acting insecticide. Upon his advice, I also treated them with Bayer Advanced Tree and Shrub concentrate around the base of the trees. Injection sites Tree 4 days after treatment. Die-back has stopped, tree has perked up. He suggested we wait until cooler weather to trim back the dead branches. Exit holes?