General Discussion

I’m going with the latest: 350 to 400 years old.

Last year it dropped a major limb that weighed about a ton, maybe more — old oak is heavy. Thank the oak gods it fell on a chain link fence between us and a neighbor’s orchard (no tame trees were hurt) and all that hit our patio was a huge amount of smaller leafy branches that alas comprised a good deal of the shade.

We called out tree experts to do all that could be done for its health. Oaks are a protected species here, but even if they were not, a tree as grand as that should be saved. It was here long before we were.

As for undesirable trees — non-native eucalyptus just about heads the list afaiac. They are flammable, shallow rooted, and are inclined to fall over after heavy rain. They are also all over SoCal. I drove by a parking lot one morning and saw someone’s shiny new pickup truck smashed nose to tail by a eucalyptus.